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THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK, 

COMPILED FROM 
NILES' REGISTER AND OTHER AUTHENTIC RECORDS, 

BIT "WIIjIjIAME OGDE2T ETIL33S, 

II ^^• 

AND KESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE VOUNO MEN OF THE UrTlTKD ST;^TE9 




PUBLISHED BY DUFF GREEx\, EDITOil OF THE "PILOT," AND GUSHING & BROTHKK, 
BALTIMORE ; HOGAN & THOMPSON AND T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, PHILADELPHIA. 

if)/ 18 40. - ~ 



INTRODUCTION. 



TnK (vnnpilor of the following piges was for nearly twenfy years ronnertod with 
"NiLKs' IvciiTSTKR," cither as associate or principal editor of that work. In October 
last he retireil from it; but since (JENEllAL HARRISON'S nomination for the pre- 
sidency, numerous applications have been addressed to him from different sections of 
the country, by individuals seeking official information illustrative of the character 
and services of that veteran soldier-statesman. Such information as is embraced in 
the pages of the "Rkoistkh"* has always been promptly and cheerfully given. 
But he thouq;tit he could relieve himself from the necessity of answering every 
intlividual applicant, and perform an acceptable service to the friends of general 
Harrison, by making a synopsis of all the documents, &c., in the "Rec.isteu," and 
publishing it in the whig newspapers. He had not, however, advanced far in 
that task, before he discovered that it would be utterly impracticable to compress 
within the limits of a newspaper the vast mass of testimony which is necessary to 
do full justice to his character, and to satisfy the reasonable curiosity of the pul)lic; 
especially that younger portion, who were not actors in the busy scenes of the late 
war with (Jreat Britain. He, therefore, made an arrangement with general Duff 
Green for the publication of the following compilation ; for which he claims no 
credit, and is fully sensible that it abounds with evidences of the haste with which 
it was prepared for the ()ress. But he has kept it free from all comments which migiit 
reflect upon general Harrison's former associates, and confined himself exclusively to 
documentiiry evidt-nce, which no one can dispute. 

Neither is it submitted in the spirit of proselytism ; but with a sincere desire to do 
justice to a pure patriot, whose well-earned fame has been shamelessly traduced for 
the most vile and selfish purposes; and whether he is, or is not elected president of 
the United ."^tates, it is due to his character that the evidences of his devotion to the 
interests of his country should be more widely dilfused among the people. The com- 
piler must remark, however, that every document from the pen of general Harrison 
art'ords conclusive proof of his ability to do his own " writing" as well as his own 
"Jighting" for they arc characterized by a bold, manly, and vigorous style, and abound 
with those graceful and well-turned ])eriods which mark the practised writer and 
accomplished scholar. It will also be seen, in the noticea of the enthusiasm of the 
people during the late war, that he was hailed as "The Washin{;ton of tiik 
West," and was the Jirst American, since the death of the "Fa/her of his Country." 
whose services in the cause of civil liberty were compared with those of that great 
benefactor of the human race. The compiler believes that a " Stcond Wmhingfuyi'" 
will not appear among mankind; and with a sentiment of general Harrison, (which 
contains an admonition to the American peoi)le that should be inscribed on every 
ballot-box in the country in letters of gold,) ollered in reply to a toastf drunk in his 
honor at Cincinnati, in September, 1828, he submits the "Text-Book" to the sober 
judgment if the people. 

Bv fiKN-KiiAL Haukison : — Electioneering tricks, designed by the great enemy of 
mankind fir the destruction of free governments, by preventing a free expression of the 
public will. 

• It may he well to stale, th-il the "Ueqistkr" is admitted to be good authority by all pa'- 
lieu, iiiul itiHi it JR .idiiiiUrd as evidence in tlie courts of law. 
+ " Tlial lu dared tu be honut in the worst of time*." 



THE 

TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 



CHAPTER I. 

BIOGBAPHICAI. MEMOIRS OF OEXERAL WILLIAM HENIIT HARRISOIT.* 

To the catalogue of those who have distinf^uished themselves by an early victorv 
over sloth, sensuality, and ease, and by a magnanimous oblation of life and personal 
services at the shrine of patriotism and military glory, it becomes our pleasing task to 
add the conqueror of Tippecanoe and the hero of the Thames. • 

Major-general WIJ.LIAM HENRY HARRISON is descended from one of 
the oldest and most respectable families in Virginia. Through the earliest records of 
the colonies, the name of Harrison may be traced in the highest order of office; but 
our particular information respecting it goes no farther back than the great-grandfather 
of our present subject, who, though he died young, tilled the chair of the house of 
delegates of that province. His son, too, the grandfather of our William Henry, was 
a man of considerable wealth, and of vast influence in the colonies; and at his liealh 
left several sons, of whom some held considerable rank afterwards, not only in the 
legislative assembly of the state, but in the provincial army during the rcvolutii^nary 
war. Benjamin, the eldest of these, and the father of our hero, rendered himself par- 
ticularly conspicuous by his prompt adoption of the cause of the colonies, in defiance 
of the suggestions of self-interest, which, at that period, would have dictated an adhe- 
rence to the cause of the mother country. His possessions in the country were large, 
his personal inlluence was extensive and commanding, and the consideration in which 
he was held by the royal government, was of a nature to secure to him every advantage 
he could reasonably hope to derive from the favor of the crown. Insensible, however, 
to every personal solicitation, he, on the first breaking out of the revolutionary troubles, 
without hesitation or delay formed the generous resolution to cling to the cause of hi.s 
country ; in defence of her rights and independence, to put his property, his life, and 
all his ho;.es on the hazard of the die; nay, if it should be necessary, to lay them all 
down as a sacrifice in the struggle; and, in a word, to rise or fall with the fortunes of 
America. Zeal so very disinterested naturally inspired the people with confidence in 
his fidelity, while of his talents he had already given such ample proofs, as evinced 
his qualifications for offices of the highest trust; he was therefore elected by his coun- 
trymen to represent the state of Virginia in the continental congress, during the suc- 
cessive sessions of 1774, 1775, and 1776; and in 1777, declining a re-election to 
congress, was chosen speaker of the lower branch of the state legislature, in which 
ofHce he continued to act till the year 1782, when he was appointed governor of Vir- 
ginia in the room of governor Nelson, who had resigned. In all these dignified 
stations, his conduct was so decided and beneficial to the country, and he on every 
occasion evinced so much spirit, patriotic zeal, and wisdom, ihat, with each successive 
gradation of office, he rose in the esteem, aflection, and confidence of his fellow-citizens, 
till at length he reached the high form graced with the Wa^hingtons, the Henrys, the 
Randolphs, and the other illustrious men who formed that splendid constellation of 
worthies, which will immortalize the new world. 

In the unwearied discharge of these most important duties, we find him employed 
during the whole of the revolutionary war. Looking to the journals of congress, we 
see them filled with repeated testimonials of the implicit trust reposed in his talents 
and fidelity by that august body. There he appears as one of the three members 

♦ This iiiniinir is chiefly extracted from a memnir put)Iislic'(i in "jViUs' Reirister" of 1816. and 
copied frmii ilio ^'■Purt Fvlii,.'' The evei:ts sutiseqiieiit to IftltKiie lakfU from a very imereistinif 
bioprapliy of ecneral Harrison, from the pea of I. R. Jackson of Philadelptiia, and recently 
{lubllshed in that city. 
8 



4 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

noininateJ to proceed to Washington's camp in tlie )-ear 1775, in order to persuade 
the army to extend their term of service: aijain, one of the committee appointed to 
determine whclher New York sliould be burned or defended : after tiiat, chairman of 
that celebrated i-ummittec Ktyled ' the hoard of war;' and, lastly, clnirman of the no 
less dignified tli;in memorable assembly, in which that momentous subject, tlie Decla- 
ration of Indepen.lence, was debated. 

Tiius honored and deserving of honor, lived the father of general Harrison to the 
year 1791 ; when, at the age of sixty-five, he was gathered to his forefathers, leaving 
behind him three sons, the youngest of wIk^h is the gentleman of whose exploits we 
are now to speak, and who was born at the family seat in Virginia, on the ninth of 
rebniary, 1773. 

Though the property of Mr. Benjamin Harrison was large, it was not sufficient to 
place every branch of a numerous oH'spring in a state of Oj)ulent inilependence suitable 
to their wonted standing, and according to the customs of the society in which they 
lived. In his own talents, had they been exclusively devoted to the improvement cf 
his fortune, he had a perennial spring of wealth ; but those were so entirely bestowed 
upon public eoncerns(fcnd his time was so engrossed by the olficial duties whifh he 
hud to pcrlorm at a distance from home, that his private affairs were neglected by him, 
and of course impaired. Ollice, v/hich in all other times and countries has tended to 
enrich thi' possessor, brought nothing but elory to our patriots of that day; and Mr. 
Harrison, while he was asserting his country's independence, was consuming his 
family's patrimony. Not that he was atldieted to any of those wasteful sports, much 
less t<) any of those degrailing vices, on wliich splendid fortunes are too often lavisligd 
away in that slate. His establishment at Berkley is represented as a model of elegant 
comfort, and liberal but correct hospitality ; in which, however, plain good sense pre- 
sided; yet, owing to the causes already mentioned, his fortune began to fall to waste; 
and this suggested to him the expediency of giving his sons such an education as 
would qualify them for lucrative as well as honorable pursuits in life. 

William Ilenry, who entered upon his education after his elder brothers had finished 
tlieus and been settled in business, was at an early age placed at a grammar-school, 
fiom which in due time he was sent to Hampden College, where he remained till he 
completed his fourteenth year, when he was removed to an academy in Southanipfon 
county. There he remained till he entered his seventeenth year; at which lime, 
being pronounced by the principal well ([ualiGed to commence the study of physic, 
for which he was destined by his father, he was placed for a short jieriod under the 
tuition of doctor Leiper, a practising physician of respectable standing in Richmond, 
uid, in the spring of 1791, was sent to Philadelphia to finish his medical studies. 

It vv.as while he was on his journey to Philadelphia that his lather died ; and this 
event determined him to abandon alto'j;cther a prolt>ssion which he had consented to 
enter upon merely to gratil'y that gentleman. The rece])tion he met from all the emi- 
nent professors of that day, — Rush, Shippen, Wistar, &c., particularly from the first 
of these, — on account of the services rendered by his fiither during the progress of the 
revolution, was insulilcient to shake his purpose. But what profession to choose in 
lieu of the medical, was the question which demanded the most prompt decision, as 
his brother had given him to understand by letter, that the pcrsonul projjcrty left by 
his father fell short of what would be necessary to the suceessfid prosecution of his 
original scheme of life. 

The connexions of this gentleman, however, were respectable; the family influence 
was great. Besides president Washington's having a warm interest in his welfare, 
he was related to attoruey-general Randol]^h, to colonel Bassett, and to Mrs. Wasliing- 
ton; and Mr. Randoljih, on being appointed secretary of state, offered him a situation 
in his olfice. General Henry Jice, of Virginia, however, having about the same 
time proposed to him to take a commission in the army, he without hesitation agreed 
to accept of it, as infinitely more congenial with his taste and active disposition, than 
any other situation that fie could hope to acquire: yet justly appnhi'iisive that his 
choice would not meet the approbation of his connexions, be sellled it that general 
J^ee shouM solicit ibc commission at the war-o(iice without comnuiiiic-atitig the matter 
to either of hi« friends, Mr. Randolph, or Mr. Morris; but the i)resident happening 
to mention the affair to Mr. Morris, the hitter immediately required our young gentle- 
man's attendance at his house ; upon w hich our young soldier, suspecting that the 



i 



THE TirPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 5 

obic'Ct of the summons was to dissuade, liini from going into tlio army, flew to the 
vvar-iirnce, received his commission in the first regiment of United States infantry, 
thcnci! hastening to judge Wilson, took the necessary oaths before iiim, and then \>w- 
reeded with those documents in his pocket to the house of his jialroii and friend, who 
expressed his entire (hsa])i)robation of the step he had taken, but said that he would 
no longer oppose it; and added, "You aro going to a fine country, where, if you 
should leave the army, you may estabUsh yourself to advantage." The regiment in 
which ho was ct)mmissioned was then employ»'d on the western waters, under general 
St. C'lair; and from subsequent events it would seem as if Mr. Morris had spoken in 
the spirit no less of the prophet than the friend ; for that very country soon after 
became the scene of his fame, and the high-road to his fortune and honor. 

After spending in Philadelphia a few weeks, during which he was employed in the 
reciuiting service, he proceeded to join his regiment, and arri'.ed at Fort Washington 
in the north-western territory, a few days after the defeat of general St. Clair's army 
by the Indians. His arrival is yet remembered by several persons at (Jincinnati, 
who, when he became a man of conseijuence and popularity in that eoLintry, took 
pleasure in describing his person. The ensign might have been forgotten, but tho 
governor and the major-general buoyed up all the minute circumstances which would 
have sunk with the poor subaltern officer to the bottom of oblivion. Accordingly, we 
are told that ensign Harrison, when he joined his corps, was a stripling of nineteen 
years of age; tall, thin, puerile in his person, and to all appearance but wretchedly 
qualified for the hardships to which a soldier is liable in the wilderness. Yet with 
such a frame, softened by all the comfort and delicacy in which the wealthy families 
of the soudiern states rear up their children, was our military novice at once exposed 
to the most trying circumstances. 

The broken remains of general St. Clair's army were every day arriving at the 
fort, naked, broken down, and dispirited. The period of service of the militia had 
expired : the detachment of the second regiment of regulars that was in the action 
under St. Clair, was entirely cut up, and thus the task of maintaining the hne of 
posts that had been erected, or establishing new ones, and of atfording convoys for 
provisions, devolved upon an inconsiderable body, composed of between three and 
four hundred of the first regiment, and the miserable fragments of general St. 
Clair's shattered army. The situation of our young soldier was now such as 
might well have discouraged the stoutest heart, and disposed him to listen. to the admoni- 
tions of his friends in Phdadelphia — nay, so formidable was the prospect before him, 
that a friend whom he met by accident at the fort, after giving him a lively pic- 
ture of the excessive hardships to which he must necessarily be exposed, with a 
frame and constitution so wholly unequal to it, exhorted him to resign his commission 
and return home again, assuring him that even though he should be able to sustain 
those hardships, it was scarcely possible he should resist the seductive habits of intenv 
perance which at that time prevailed in the army. All these remonstrances wero 
unavailing. Taking counsel partly from his own private inclination, and partly 
from a nice sensibility to shame, which suggested, in exaggerated colors, the impro- 
priety of retreating from his purpose in such a crisis, and perhaj)s a little too from 
the apprehension of being ridiculed by his former associates, he determined to perse- 
vere, and was soon after appointed to the command of a detachment of twenty men 
ordered to escort a number of [)ack-horses to Fort Hamilton ; a duty which, though 
it was attended with singular difficulties, distresses, and privations, and with all the 
hardships incident to Indian warfare, such as lying out unsheltered and exjjosed t» 
the inclemency of the weather, to rain and snow, and wind by night as well as by 
day, he accomplished to such perfect satisfaction, that he received the public thanks 
of general St. Clair for his conduct. 

Soon afterwards general St. Clair set out for Philadelphia, and early in January. 
1792, general Wilkinson being appointed colonel of the second regiment, took tha 
command of the army. Of this event general Harrison always speaks with pleasure, 
as making a very intercating era in his life. 

The successive defeats of Harmar and St. Clair pointed out to government the ne 
cessity of adopting a more eifcctual mode of repressing the Indians, or in other words, 
of calling into action against them a larger force and a more cautious system of opera- 
tious. Ne;jotiatioas for peace, therefore, were set oa foot, in order, if possible, W 

A 3 V 



O THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

bring the savages to reason, at the same time that an act of congress was passed for 
raising a considerable army ; and in order to provide against that error which had 
occasioned the two past defeats, viz. the want of discijiline in the troops. The whole 
of the year 1792, and the winter and spring of 1793, were employed in raising men, 
and iiistriiclinn them in military diseiplme. The new troops were stationed under 
general Wayne, at llrst a few miles tielow Pittsburg, and then descending the Ohio, 
were encamped upon its baidcs below Cincinnati, where Harrison joined them, in 
June, 1793, and was appointed second aid-de-camp to the commander-in-chief, having 
been in the preceding year raised to a lieutenancy in the first regiment. 

In September, it being understood that the negotiations with the Indians had failed 
of effict and were liroken ofj' the army, consisting of four thousand five hundred 
cll'i'i-tivo regulars, including some troops of dragoons, and of an auxiliary force of two 
thousand mounted miliiia under the command of general Scott, marched to Green- 
ville; but an early setting in of the frost rendered it advisable to put the troops into 
winter ipiarters, huts were built, and a system of discipline, calculated for the kind of 
warfare in which they were to be employed, was diligently put in practice. Here 
young Harrison devoted himself to the study and practice of his profession with such 
success, that he obtained the confidence of his commander and the attachment of his 
associates. 

It was not, however, till the latter end of June, 1 794, that general Wayne was 
enabled to march from Greenville, the enemy retreating before him as he advanced. 
He took and destroyed the town of the Indians, afid advanced upon the British fort 
lately built at the f.iot of the rapids of the Miami river. The Indians had collected in 
that neighborhood, and on the 20th of August opposed the march of the American 
army, who soon routed them, and driving them to within a short distance of the 
British fort, encamped in full view of it. In this battle Harrison's conduct received 
the warmest applause from general Wayne. He had been appointed by the general 
to assist in forming the left wing of the regular troops; a task of extreme dilliculty, 
owing to the thickness of the woods in which thjey were posted, and he accomplished 
it with great skill and eflect. 

Thus completely vanquished and humiliated, the Indians sued for peace; in the 
winter an armistice was granted to them, and in the August following a treaty termi- 
nated all tiieir differences, and, with those, the war. 

In the autumn of 179.5, Mr. Harrison, now a captain, was married to the youngest 
daughter of John Cheeves Symmes, esq., one of the judges of the north-western ter- 
ritory ; and on the departure of general Wayne for the Atlantic states, was continued 
by him in his post of aid-de-camp, and left in the command of Fort Washington. 
In the former of these offices he remained till the death of general Wayne, which 
hajipened in the course of the following year. 

In 1797 captain Harrison finding the country reposed in peace, left the army, and 
was in a few weeks afterwards appointed secretary of the north-western territory in 
the room of W. Sergeant, esq., who was raised to the office of governor of the Mis- 
fcissippi territory. In the year 1799, he was sent as a delegate to congress from the 
north-vvcstorri territory, and had an active share in bringing througli congress tlie law 
for chaoging the defective system that had been in use for the sale of public lands, 
and iu introducing the plan now in operation. He was in fact the person w!io origi- 
nated that measure, the happy effects of which upon the treasury of the United 
States are now acknowledged by every one; for it has been ascertained, that the 
immense growth of population which enabled that tenitory in a short time after to 
become one of the states, and at this time not one of the smallest, arose altogether 
from that plan. 

When the Indiana territory was formed out of a part of the north-western, Mr. Har- 
rison was appointed, by Mr. Adams, the first governor of it; and in the year 1801, 
removed to the capital of it (Vinceimes) with his family. At the expiration of three 
years, fr)r which he had been apjiointed, he was again nominated to that olliee by 
Mr. Jt iVcr-un, and continued to retain it under Mr. Madison till he was called to the 
command of the north-western army after the fall of Detroit. 

Luring his administration he ilireeted his attention to the disciplining of the militia, 
and ex' rted himself in endeavoring to civilize and better the condition of the Indian 
tribes that fell under his supcriiiU'udcnce. In his letters to governor Scott of Kea- 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK- 7 

tucky, which have been puhlisheJ, and in hi« speeches to tlic Indiana legislature, he 
strenuously recommended the systent of the old republics, under which military in- 
struction was commenced at school. In consequence of that recommendation, the 
United Stales gave a seclion of each township of Indiana for the use of schools, and 
an entire township near Vincennes towards the establishment of a college, for the 
express purpose of military instruction. 

Of his anxiety to secure the Indians from inquietude and the aggressions of the 
whites, to promote their civilization, and to induce them to raise domestic animals as 
a substitute for the wild game which was rapidly decreasing, his speeches and mes- 
sages to the legislature of Indiana bear abuiulant testimony ; while the many advan- 
tageous treaties he made with them, prove his j)i)pularity with that singular race of 
beings. But a still stronger proof is this : — A few of the party attached to the 
prophet, gave out that the tribes who signed the treaty at Fort Wayne in 1809, were 
overawc(i by a large force into that measure, contrary to their inclination. This was 
a foul aspersion ; fur the truth bus been established beyond controversy, that at the 
time of negotiating there were no more than thirty soldiers along with governor Har- 
rison, while the Indians amounted to more than eighteen hundred — and he was 
entirely in their power, having slept at a house half a mile from the fort surrounded 
by a multitude of Indians. 

The civil administration of general Harrison as governor of the territory, though 
not attended with such splendid circumstances as his military achievements, do him 
no less credit. A minute detail of his conduct in that high ollice would be out of its 
place in such an article as this, and could not be very interesting to the reader. For 
the present purpose it is sufficient to state that his management of the territory ob- 
tained the universal applause of the people, and the unqualified approbation of the 
general government. One event of it, however, merits particular description, as well 
on account of its important ellects upon the public concerns, as of its serving to 
illustrate the character of general Harrison — we mean the expedition on the Wabash, 
in the autunm of 181 1, which ended in the victory of Tippecanoe. 

[Official details of the battle of Tipptcunoe, the defence of Fort Meigs, and the 
victory over Proctor at the Thames, &c. are inserted in subsequent chapters, and it is not 
necessary to give them here. They were, indeed, glorious achievements, and reflected 
the highest honor upon the victorious general, who was greeted as " the Wcibhingtun 
of the IVes/."] 

On receiving the news of the victory of the Thames, the thanks of congress were 
expressed to general Harrison in the warmest manner. Among many others, whose 
grateful feelings found utterance on that occasion, the hon. Langdon Cheves ob- 
served, on the floor of congress, that — ' The victory of Harrison was such as would 
have secured to a Roman general in the best days of the republic, the honors of a 
triumph.' A sentiment which was fully responded to, in the complimentary notices 
which he received from every part of the union. 

Having entirely defeated the enemy in Upper Canada, general Harrison advanceil 
with a part of his army, to the Niagara frontier, and thence to Sackett's Harbor, 
where he left the troops, and proceeded to the seat of government. On his way 
thither, he passed through New York, and Philadelphia; in which cities he was 
received with the most flattering marks of public honor and distinction. After the 
necessary delay of a few days at Washington, general Harrison proceeded to Ohio, 
where important duties required his presence. 

In the plan for the ensuing campaign, to the surprise and regret of the public, 
general Harrison was designated for a service, far inferior to that which he had a right 
to expect. Regardless of the memorable victories which this gal>,nt and experienced 
officer had won, and unmindful of the various and important services which he had 
rendered to his country, the secretary of war saw fit to assign to him the command 
of a district, where he would be compelled to remain inactive, while others were ap- 
pointed to those more arduous duties, which he had heretofore fulfilled with so much 
honor to himself, and to the nation. As if still unsatisfied with the insult which he 
had oli'ered to general Harrison, the secretary of war, on the '25th of April, 1814, 
appointed a subordinate officer to a separate command within his district, and notified 
him to that eflfect. On the receipt of this notification, general Harrison instantly 
addressed a letter to the secretary, tendering his resignation, with a notiiicauoii 



8 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

thereof to the president. 'As soon as governor Shelby heart] of the resignation of 
general Harrison, he lost no time in addressing the president in his usual forcible 
terms, to prevent his accc[)tance of it ; but unfortunately for the pulilic interests, the 
president was then on a visit to Virginia, to which place the letters from general 
Harrison and governor Shelby were forwarded, and that of the latter was not 
received until after the secretary, Armstrong, without thk i-ukvious cuvklnt of 
THi: I'RK.sinEXT, had iissumed to himself the high prerogative of accepting the resig- 
nation. The president expressed his great regret that the letter of governor Shelby 
had not been receivotl earlier, as in that case the valuable services of general Harrison 
would have been preserved to the nation in the ensuing cam|)aign.' 

Soon alter his resignation, in the summer of IBM, Mr. Madison evinced his una- 
bated conii<!cnce in the abilities and integrity of general Harrison, by appointing hi:n 
to ti-eat with the Indians, in conjunction with his old com|janions in arms, governor 
Shelby, and general Cass. And in the following year, he was placed at the head of 
another commission, appointed to treat with the north-western tribe-s. 'I'he advan- 
tageous treaties made in both these cases, aft'ordetl new instances of the unfailing 
success, that has always attended general Harrison's negotiations with the Indiijns. 

In 1816, he was elected, by a large majority, a member of the house of representa- 
tives in congress, from Ohio. In this station he served, greatly to his own honor and 
to the satisfaction of his constituents, until 1S19 ; when, on the expiration of his term 
of service, he was chosen to the senate of tlie state legislature. 

In 1824, he was elected a senator of the United States from Ohio. While serving 
in this high station, he commanded universal respect. His views as a stjitesmaa 
were liberal and extended ; his remarkable rcadmcss in debate soon rendered him a 
prominent member; and the nervous and impassioned eloquence, and classical felicity 
of illustration, with which he enforced his arguments, gained him much inilucnce. 

In 1828, he was appointed by Mr. Adams, envoy extraordinary and minister pleni- 
potentiary to the Kepublic of Colombia. He accepted this appointment, and repaired, 
without delay, to the scene of his duties, where he was received with every dejiion- 
Ktration of respect. He found this unhappy country in a deplorable condition — the 
people ignorant of their rights, and almost in a state of anarchy, and Bolivar aji- 
parently about to assume the despotic power of a military dictator. Shocked at tliis 
state of things, with the frankness of an old soldier, he wrote liis celebrated letter to 
Bolivar, which is inserted at length in suliscquent pages. 

General Harrison remained in Colombia but a short time, having been recalled by 
general Jackson, soon after he came into power. 

."since his return fronr this mission, he has lived in comparative retirement, in Ohio, 
the state of his ado[)tion. With the most enticing opportunities of accumulating 
wealth, during his long government of Indiana, and superintendcncy of Indian 
alfairs, he acquired none ; his honest and scrupulous integrity was proof against the 
golden temptations. His time anil best energies were devoted to the service of his 
country, and his own interests were ever, with him, a secondary consideration. Ho 
therefore retired without the spoils of oflice, and with only a cou^petency barely suffi- 
cient for his support ; but rich in a reputation undinimed by a single tarnish, and in 
the honor and respe<;t of all his fellow-citizens. 

(Jcncral Harrison is now sixty-six years of age; but such have been the activity 
and temperatii habits of his ()ast life, that he enjoys his moral and physical energies 
in renuirkable vigor. In jjerson, he is tall and thin ; his features arc irregular, but 
his eyes are dark, keen, and penetrating; his forehead is expansive; his moutli pecu- 
liarly indicative of firmness and genius ; and his countenance is highly expressive of 
intelligence and bt'.evolence. His maimers are plain, frank, and unassuming, and 
his disposition is cheerful, kind, and generous, almost to a fault. In his private inter- 
course, be is beloved and esteemed by all who know him. In the various civil and 
Hiilitary otlices he has held, he has always been njoderate and forliearing, yet firm and 
true to his trust. No other coininandtir has ever been more [lopular with our militia, 
and the true .swret of this cannot be better explained than by his own reply, when 
asked how he had gained this inllnence: ' By treating them,' said he, ' with affection 
and kindne,=s, by always recollecting that they were my fellow-cili/ens, whosot feeling.; 
I was bound to respect ; and by sharing with tlieni, on every occasion, the hard^hip^ 
u/iuch they were obliged to unilcrgo.' " ' 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 



CHAPTER II. 

TUB BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE, ETC. 

The preceding memoir presents a most interesting and graphic account of tha 
nature and value of the services of General Harrison, and ought to convince any 
reasonalile man that he possesses, in an extraordinary degree, all those qualifications 
which should adorn a hrave soldier and an enlightened statesman, and that he is " pecu- 
liarly fitted to hring back the government to that old and beaten track in which it 
was marching to prosperity and greatness," until perverted to the base purposes of 
party, and used to crush, instead of to protect, the interests of the people. The 
foul spirit of detraction has, however, been at work, and it is the design of the follow- 
ing pages to exhibit, from official so\irces, the evidences of his public services, and 
the estimation in which they were held by the government and the people ; and thuj9 
enable the friends of the peoples' candidate to repel error and establish truth. 

His celebrated battle with the Indians was fought on the night of the 7th of 
November, 1811, on the Wabash river, at a place called TIPPECANOE, in sight 
of the Prophet's town, and lasted for two hours. Thirty-seven Americans were 
killed, and one hundred and fifty-one wounded. Among the killed were colonels 
Owen and Shelby, captain Spencer, and both of his subalterns, captain Berry of 
Croydon, and captain Baen of the regular army. Governor Harrison was shot 
through the hat and slightly wounded. The American force consisted of eight 
hundred men ; three hundred and fifty of these were of the 4th regiment United 
States infantry, and the remainder volunteer cavalry and riflemen from the sta.'J of 
Kentucky and the territory of Indiana, of which territory Harrison was then 
governor. The force of the Indians is not stated with accuracy, but it greatly out- 
numbered the American troops ; and they suffered great loss in killed and wounded. 
The Indians, it was believed, were instigated to hostilities against our peaceful citizens, 
by the British government, and completely armed and equipped out of the king's 
stores at Maiden. " Indeed," said gov. Harrison, in a letter to colonel J. M. Scott, 
of Frankfort, Kentucky, (see vol. i. Niles' Reg. p. 311.) "they were much belter 
armed than the greater part of my troops ; every Indian was provided with a gun, 
scalping knife, tomahawk and war club, and most of them with a spear, whilst the 
greater part of the riflemen had no other weapon than a rifle." The governor had 
marclied up to the Prophet's town in the evening, and held a conference with him, 
when it was agreed to hold a council the next morning. A negro, however, deserted 
to the Indians, and told them that the governor had but about three hundred men, 
that he had a large quantity of goods with him, and that the next day, whei» 
they were in council, .he intended to fall upon them and destroy them. This in- 
formation, it is supposed, induced the Indians to make the attack in the night, when 
they rushed upon the American troops with extraordinary rapidity. But they were 
not "■surprised,^' as has been asserted; for it will be seen, by referring to Niles' Reg. 
vol. ii. p. 56., that three captains, one ensign, and the surgeon and assistant surgeon 
of the 4th regiment United States infantry, have published certificates and statements 
relative to the battle, in which the prudence and skill of governor Harrison are 
represented in the most honorable light. " The tvhule of (he men skpt upon their 
arti:s,with their accoutrements upon them, and the lines were fornted in FROM 
FOUR TO SIX MINUTES after the firing of the first gun. ivith astonishing 
regularity and order " — which could not have been accomplished in a dark night, 
without a previous arrangement predicated upon a supposed attack ! The .\merican 
troops fought with the most determined bravery, and the Indians, inspired by the 
presence of their Prophet, and their thirst for blood and plunder, obstinately main 
tained their ground for two hours. Cols. Daveiss, Owen, White, Geiger, judge 
Taylor, major Floyd, and captains Berry, Baen and Spencer, performed prodigii's of 
valor. Three Indians attacked colonel E. Geiger in his tent at one time, he killed 
one and vanquished the other two, when he was wounded in the arm. Major Floyd 



10 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

fought like Ciesar, " in his shirt tail," and clothed himself with victory. The slaugh 
ter was, indeed, dreadful, for the Indians came to the point of the bayonet with 
their tomahawks, and only ceased the struggle with the loss of life. After the 
battle gov. Harrison took possession of al)out five thousand bushels of corn, 
Wlonging to the Indians, and burned the Prophet's town, (^ee Niles' Keg. vol. L 
p. 2.38.) 

There was another unfounded statement in relation to this brilliant affair which at- 
tracted ihe notice of some of the brave oHicers who participated in it. A corres- 
pondent of the National Intellii^enccr, in a letter to the editor of that publication, 
dated February 23, 1817, recorded in Niles, vol. xii. p. 90, said: — 

•• In Ur. Ramsay's history of the American I^evolution, continued by Dr. Smith to 
the treaty of Ghent, I find in pages 142, 3, and 4, of the 3d volume, an account of 
the transactions which preceded the battle of Tippecanoe, so essentially different from 
the facts, particularly that part which states that general Harrison encamped his troops 
on ground selected or pointed out by the Indians, that I am induced, from regard to 
historic truth, and the reputation of a distinguished officer, to request the publication 
of the following extract from Mc Alice's history of the war in the western ci'untry, 
and the subjoined statements of the honorable Waller Taylor, now a senator from 
Indiana, and lieut. col. Snelling, of the army, then a captain in the 4th United States 
regiment of infantry. Jcst;ce. 

THE EXTRACT. 

"To this it was observed, that as the Indians seen hovering about the army, had 
been frequently invited to a parley by the interpreters, who had proceeded some distance 
from the lines for the purpose ; and as these overtures had universally been answered 
by menace and insult, it was very evident that it was their intention to fight ; that 
the troops were in high spirits and full of confidence ; and that advantage ought to 
be taken of their ardour to lead them immediately to the enemy ; to, this the governor 
(Harrison) answered, that he was fully sensible of the eagerness of the troops ; and 
admitting the determined hostility of the Indians, and that their insolence was full 
evidence of their intention to fight, yet he knew them too well to believe that they 
would ever do this, but by surprise, or on ground which was entirely favorable to 
their mode of fighting. He was therefore determined not to advance with the troops, 
until he knew precisely the situation of the town, and the ground adjacent to it, par- 
ticularly that which intervened between it and the place where the army then wa;; — 
that it was their duty to fight when they came in contact with the enemy — it was 
his to take care that they should not engage in a situation where their valor would 
be useless, and where a corps upon which he placed great reliance would be unable to 
act ; that the experience of the last two hours ought to convince every officer, that 
no reliance ought to be placed upon the guides, as to the topography of the country ; 
that relying on their information, the troops had been led into a situation so unfavor- 
able, that but for the celerity with which they changed their position, a few Indians 
might have destroyed them. He was therefore determined not to advance to the town, 
until he had previously reconnoitered, either in person, or by some one on whose 
judgment he could rely. Major Daveiss immediately replied, that from the right of 
the [)()sition of the dragoons, which was still in front, the opening made by the low 
grounds of (he Wabash could be seen ; that with his adjt. D. Floyd, he had advanced 
to the bank, which descends to the low grounds, and had a fair view of the culfiv;ifcd 
fields and the houses of the town ; and that the open woods, in which the troops then 
were, continued without interruption to the town. Upon this iiiformation, the govci>- 
nor said he would advance, provided he could get any proper person to go to the town 
with a flag. Ca[)tain T. Dubois, of Vincenncs, having offered his services, he was 
despatched with an interpreter to the Prophet, desiring to know whether he would 
now comply with the terms that had been so often proposed to him. 'I'he army was 
moved slowly after in order of battle. In a few moments a messenger came from 
captain Dubi)is, informing the governor that the Indians were near him in considerable 
numbers, but lliat they would return no answer to the interjireter, although tliey were 
Dufllciently near to hear what was said to them, and that upon his advancing, they 
amstantly endeavoured to cut him olf from the army. Gov. Harrison, during this 
last ellbrt to open a negotiation, which wa.s sufficient to show bis wish for an accom- 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 11 

modation, rpsolvpj no longer to liesittitc in tn-afins; tho Indians as enemies. He there- 
fore recalled captain Dubois, and moved on with a doterniination to attaek them. He 
had not prncceded far, however, l>cforc he was met by three Indians, one of them a 
principal counsellor to the Prophet. They were sent, they said, Ui know why the 
army was advancing upon them — that the Prophet wished if j)ossil)le to avoid hos- 
tilities ; that he had sent a pacific message by the Miami and Patawalamie chiefs, 
who had come to him on the part of the governor — and that those chiefs had unfor- 
tunately gone down on the south side of the Wabash. A suspension of hostilities 
was accordingly agreed upon ; and a meeting was to take place the next day between 
Harrison and the chief-s, to agree upon the terms of peace. The governor further 
informed them, that he would go on to the Wabash and encamp there for the night. 
Upon marcliing a short distance further he came in view of the town, which was 
seen at some distance up the river upon a commanding eminence. Major Daveiss 
and fidjt. Flnyd had mistaken some scattered houses in the fields below for the 
tjwn itself 'I'he ground below the town being unfavorable for an encampment, the 
army marched on in the direction of the town, with a view to obtain a better situation 
beyond it. 'J"he troops were in an order of march, calculated by a single conversion 
of companies, to form the order of battle, which it had last assumed, the dragoons 
being in front. This corps soon however became entangled in ground covered with 
brush and tops of fallen trees. A halt was ordered, and major Daveiss directed to 
change position with Spencer's rifle corps, which occupied the open fields adjacent to 
the liver. The Indians seeing this manoeuvre, at the approach of the troops towardst 
the town, supposed that they intended to attack it, and immediately prepared for 
defence. Some of them sallied out, and called to the advance corjis to halt. The 
governor upon this rode forward, and requested some of the Indians to come to him, 
assured them that nothing was farther from his thoughts than to attack them — that 
the ground below the town on the river was not calculated for an encampment, and 
that it was his intention to search for a better one above. He asked if there was anv 
other water convenient beside that which the river afforded ; and an Indian with whom 
he was well acquainted, answered, that the creek which had been crossed two miles 
back, ran through the prairie to the north of the village. A halt was then ordered, 
and some officers sent back to examine the creek, as well as the river above the town. 
In half an hour, brigade-major Marston Clarke and major Waller Taylor returned, 
and reported that they had found on the creek every tiling that could be desired in an 
encampment — an elevated spot, nearly surrounded by an open prairie, with water 
convenient, and a sufficiency of wood for fuel. An idea was propagated by the ene- 
mies of governor Harrison, after the battle of Tippecanoe, that the Indians had forced 
him to encamp on a place, chosen by them as suitable for the attack they intended. 
The place however was chosen by majors Taylor and Clarke, after examining all the 
environs of the town ; and when the army of general Hopkins was there in the fol- 
lowing year, they all united in the opinion, that a better spot to resist Indians was 
not to be found in the whole country. 

The above account taken from McAffee's history of the war in the western coun- 
try, as it relates to the situation of the camp occupied by the army under the command 
of governor Harrison, on the night between the 6th and 7th of November, 1811, is 
entirely correct. The spot for the encampment was selected by col. Clarke, (who acted 
ns brigade-major to general Boyd,) and myself We were directed by governor Har- 
rison to examine the country up and down the creek until we should find a suitable 
place for an encampment. In a short time we discovered the place on which the armv 
encamped, and to which it was conducted by us. No intimation was given by the 
Indians of the wish that we should encamp there, nor could they possibly have known 
where the army would encamp until it took its position. The only error in the above 
extract is, in saying that major Clarke and myself were sent back, by which it would 
appear that the army retrograded to take up its encampment ; this is not the fact, the 
army filed oil" in front of the town at right angles to the Wabash to reach its encamp- 
ment. It has ever been my belief that the position wo occupied was the best that 
could be found anywhere near us, and I believe that nine-tenths of the officers were 
of that opinion. We did not go on the Wabash above the town, but I am certain 
that there was no position below it that was eligible for an encampment. 

February 22, 1817. Waller Tatlob. 



12 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

My situation as a platoon officer prevented my having personal knowledge of the 
transactions above related, so far as respects the selection of the encampment of the 
army under general Harrison by his staff officers ; but having carefully perused the 
extr'ict from McAllee's history, I have no hesitation in saying that I believe it to be 
6ul>.stantially correct ; and that in my opinion the ground on which the army en- 
camped comliiiied the advantages of wood, water, and a defensible position, in a 
greater degree than any other spot in that section of the country ; the ground on the 
Waliash was wholly unfit, the highland being destitute of water, and the intervale 
(or bottom-land as it is called) being without wood, and incapable of being defended. 

J. SXELLINS, 

Lieut, colonel 6lh Infantry. 
Washington, February 28, 1817." 

The following is governor Harrison's official account of the battle, communicateJ 
by president Madison to the senate and house of representatives of the United States, 
December, 1811, and published in Niles, vol. i. pp. 301 — 304. 

" To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States. 

I lay before congress two letters received from governor Harrison of the Indiana 
Territory, reporting the particulars and the issue of the expedition under his com- 
mand, notice of which was taken in my communication of November 5. 

While it is deeply lamented that so many valuable lives have been lost in the 
action which took place on the 7th ultimo, congress will see with satisfaction the 
dauntless spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed by every description of the troops 
engaged, as well as the collected firmness which distinguished their commander on an 
occasion requiring the utmost exertions of valor and disci|)line. 

It may reasonably be expected that the good effects of this critical defeat and dis- 
persion of a combination of savages which appears te have bc^n spreading to a 
greater extent, will be experienced not only in a cessation of the murders and depre- 
dations committed on our frontier, but in the prevention of any hostile incursions 
otherwise to have been apprehended. 

The families of those brave and patriotic citizens who have fallen in this severe 
conflict, will doubtless engage the favorable attention of Congress. 

James Madisoit. 

Washington, December 18, 1811. 

Vincennes, November 18, 1811. 

SiK — In my letter of the 8th instant, I did myself the honor to communicate the 
result of an action between the troops under my command and the confederation of 
Indians under the control of the Shawanoe prophet. I had previously informed you 
in a letter of the 2nd instant, of my proceedings previously to my arrival at the Ver- 
million river, where I had erected a blockhouse for the protection of the boa's which I 
was obliged to leave, and as a depository for our heavy baggage, and such of our pro- 
irisions as we were unable to transport in wagons. On the morning of the 3d 
instant, I commenced my march from the blockhouse. The Wabash above this 
turning considerably to the eastward — I was obliged in order to avoid the broken and 
woody country which borders upon it to change my course to the westward of north 
to gain the prairies which lie to the back of these woods. At tlie end of one day's 
inaFcli, I was enabled to take the ])ro|)er direction (N. E.) which brought me on the 
evening of the .'Jlh to a small creek at about eleven miles from the Prophet's town. 
I had (m the preceding day avoided the dangerous pass of Pine creek by inclining a 
few miles to the left, where the troops and wagons w»^re crossed with expedition and 
safety. Our route on the 6ih for about six miles lay through prairies separated by 
era.ill points of wTood. 

My order of march hitherto had been similar to tliat used by general Wayne; thai 
is, the infantry were in two columns of files on either side of the road, and the mounted 
riflemen and cavalry in front, in the rear, and on the flanks. Where the ground was 
Hiifavorable for the action of cavalry they were [daced in the rear, but where it was 
otherwise ihev were made to exchange positions with onu of the mounted rifle oorps. 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 13 

Understantling that the last four miles were open woods, and the prohaWIity bcinp 
greater that we should be attacked in front than on either flank, I halted at that dis- 
tance from the town and formed the army in order oi' battle. The United States 
infantry placed in the centre, t«o companies of infantry and one of mnuntcd riflemen 
on each llank formed the front line. In the rear of this line was jilared the baaipage, 
drawn up as compact as possible, and immediately behiiul it a reserve of three compa- 
nies of militia infantry. The cavalry formed a second line at the distance of three 
huiidrod yards in the rear of the front line, and a company of mounted riflemen the 
advanced guard at that distance in front. To facilitate the m;irch, the whole were 
then broken off in short columns of companies, a situation the most favorable for 
forming in order of battle with facility and precision. Our march was slow and cau- 
tious, and much delayed by the examination of every place which seemed calculated 
for an ambuscade. Indeed the ground was for some lime so unfavorable that I was 
obliged to change the position of the several corps, three limes in the distance of a 
mile. At half- past two o'clock we passed a small creek at the distance of one mile 
and a half from the town, and entered an open wood when the army was halted and 
again drawn up in order of battle. During the whole of the last day's march parties 
of Indians were constantly about us, and every effort was made by the interpreters to 
speak to them, but in vain — new attempts of the kind were now made, but proving 
equally inelfectual, a captain Dubois, of the spies and guides, oflTering to go with a 
flag to the town, I despatched him with an interpreter to request a conference with the 
prophet — in a few moments a message was sent by captain Dubois to inform nie that 
in his attempt to advance, the Indians appeared in both his flanks, and aUhough he 
had spoken to them in the most friendly manner, they refused to answer, but beckoned 
to him to go forward, and constantly endeavoured to cut him off from the army. 
Upon this information I recalled the captain, and determined to encamp for the night, 
and take some other measures for opening a conference with the prophet. Whilst I 
was engaged in tracing the lines for the encampment, major Daveiss, who commanded 
the dragoons, came up to inform me that he had penetrated to the Indian fields; that 
the ground was entirely open and favorable ; that the Indians in front had manifeiited 
nothing but hostility, and had answered every attempt to bring them to a parley with 
contempt and insolence. It was immediately advised by all the officers around me to 
move forward. A similar wish indeed pervaded all the army — it was drawn up in 
excellent order, and every man appeared eager to decide the contest immediately. 
Being informed that a good encampment might be had upon the Wabash, I yielded to 
what appeared to be the general wish, and directed the troops to advance, taking care, 
however, to place the interpreters in front, with directions to invite a conference with 
any Indians they might meet with. We had not advanced above four hundied yards, 
when I was informed that three Indians had approached the advanced guards and had 
expressed a wish to speak to me. I found upon their arrival that one of them was a 
man in great estimilion with the prophet. He informed me that the chiefs were much 
surprised at my advancing upon them so rapidly — that they were given to understand 
by the D-lawares and Miamies whom I had sent to them a few days before, thr.t I 
would not advance to their town, until I had received an answer to my demands made 
through them. That this answer had been despatched by the Patawatamie chief, 
Winemac, who had accompanied the Miamies and Delawares on their return ; that 
they had left the prophet's town two days before with a design to meet me, but unfor- 
tunately taken the road on the south side of the Wabash. I answered that I had no 
intention of attacking them until I discovered that they would not comply with the 
demands which I had made — that I would go on and encamp at the Wabash, and in 
the morning would have an interview with the prophet and his chiefs, and explain to 
them the determination of the president — that in the mean time no hostilities should 
be committed. He seemed much pleased with this, and promised that it should be 
observed on their part. I then resumed my march, we struck the cultivated grounds 
about five hundred yards below the town, but as these extended to the bank of the 
Wabash there was no possil)ility of getting an encampment which was provided with 
both wood and w^ter. My guards and inter|)reters being still with the advanced 
guard, and taking the direction of the town, the army followed and had advanced 
within about one hundred and fifty yards, when fifty or sixty Indians sallied out, and 
with loud exclamations called to the cavalry and to the militia infantry, which were 

B 



14 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

on flur right flank, to halt. I immediately advanced to the front, caused the army ta 
halt, and directed an interpreter to request some of the chiefs to come to me. In a few 
moments the man that had been with me before made his appearance. I informed 
him that my object for the present was to procure a good piece of ground to encamp 
f>ii, wiiere we could get wood and water — he informed me that there was a crerk to 
the north-west which he thought would suit our purpose. I immediately despatched 
two oHicers to examine it, and they reported that the situation was excellent. I then 
took leave of the chief, and a mutu;:! promise was again made for a suspension of hos;- 
tiliiics until we could have an interview on the following day. I found the ground 
destined ibr the encampment not altogether such as I could wish it — it was indeed 
admirably calculated lor the encampment of regular troops that were opposed to regu- 
lars, but it atl'orded great facility to the approach of savage.^. It was a piece of dry 
oak land, rising about ten feet above the level of the marshy ]>rairie in front (towards 
the Indian tovcn) and nearly twice that height above a similar prairie in the rear, 
through which and near to this bank ran a small stream clothed with willows and 
other brush wood. Towards the left (lank this bench of highland widened considera- 
bly, but became gradually narrower in the oi)po.site direction, and at the distance of 
one hundred and titty yards from the right (lank, terminated in the abrupt point. The 
two columns of infantry occupied the front and rear of this ground at the distance of 
about one hundred and fifty yards from each other on the left, and something more 
lh:in half that distance «n the right flank — these flanks were filled up, the lirst by two 
companies of mounted riflemen amounting to about one hundred and twenty men, 
uniler the command of major-general Wells of the Kentucky militia, who ser^-cd as a 
major; the other by Spencer's company of mounted riflemen which amounted to 
oiglily men. The front line was composed of one battalion of United States infantry 
under tiie command of major Fk)j'd, flanked on the right by two companies of militia, 
and on the left by one companj'. The rear hne was composed of a battalion of United 
States trooi>.-: under the conmiand of captain Baen, acting as major, and four companies 
of militia infantry under lieutenant-colonel Decker. The regular troops of the line 
joined the mou sited riflemen under general Wells on the left flank, and colonel 
iJeckf-r's battalion formed an angle with Spencer's company on the left. 

'I'wo troops of dragoons, amounting in the aggregate to al-mut sixty men, were en- 
camped in the rear of the left Hank, and captain Parke's troop, which was larger 
than the other two. in the rear of the front line. Our order of encampment varied 
little from that above described, excepting when some peculiarity of the ground made 
it necessarj'. For a night attack the order of encampment was the order of battle, 
and each man slept immediately o[)posite ta his post in the line. In the formation of 
my trooj)s I used a single rank, or what is called In(li;-n file — because in Indian war- 
fare, ^^liere there is no shock to resist, one rank is nearly as good as two, and in that 
kind of warfare the extension of line is a matter of the firs^t importance. — Kaw troops 
al-?o manoeuvre with much more facility in single than in double ranks. It was my 
constant custom to assemlile all the field ofiicers at my tent every evening by signal, 
to give them the watch word and their in.'^tructioiis for the night — those given for the 
night of the 6th were, that each corps which formed a part of the exterior line of the 
encampment, should hold its own ground until relieved. The dragoons were directed 
10 parade dismounted in case of a night attack, with their pistols in their belts, and to 
act as a corps de reserve. The camp was defended by two captains guards, (•■oiisist- 
ing ea'h of four non-commissioned oflicers and 42 privates — anil two subalterns 
guards of twenty non-coinmissioned oflicers and privates, 'i'iie w hole under the com- 
mand of a field officer of the day. — The troops were regularly called up an hour 
Ufore day, and made to conthiue under arms until it was quite light. On th» 
nioriiitig of the 7th I had risen at a quarter alter four o'clock, and the signal for call 
ingoiit the men would have been given in two inini;tes, when the attack commeiice<!. 
It tieyan on our lelt flank — but a single gun was fired by the sentinels or l>y the guard 
in that direction, wliicli made not the least resistance, liut abandoned their oHiccr and 
fled nito the camp, and the first notice which the troops of tliat flank had of the dan- 
ger, was from the yells of the savages within a short distance of the line — but even 
under those circumstances the men were not wanting to thernselve;4 or to the occasion 
Such of them as were awake, or were easily awakened, seized their arms and took 
Uieir stations; others which wore more tardy, had to contend with the enemy in tlia 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 16 

doors of their tents. The storm first fell upon captain Barton's company of the 4th 
United States regiment, and captain Geiger's company of mounted riflemen, which 
formed the left angle of the rear line. 'I'iie fire upon these was excessively severe, 
and they suffered considerably before relief could be brought to them ; some few In- 
dians passed into the encampment near the angle, and one or two penetrated to some 
distance before they were killed. I believe all the other companies were under arms 
and tolerably formed before they were fired on. The morning was dark and cloudy — 
our tires allbrded a partial light, which, if it gave us some opportunity of taking our 
positions, was still more advantageous to the enemy, affording them the means of 
taking a surer aim — they were therefore extinguished as soon as possible. Under all 
these discouraging circumstances, the troops (nineteen twentieths of whom had never 
been in action before) behaved in a manner that never can be too much applauded. 
They took their places without noise and with less confusion than could have beea 
expected from veterans placed in a similar situation. As soon as I could mount my 
horse, I rode to the angle that was attacked — I found that Barton's company had suf- 
fered severely and the left of Geiger's entirely broken. I immediately ordered Cook's 
company and the late captain Wentworth's, under Lieutenant Peters, to be brought up 
from the centre of the rear line, where the ground was much more defensible, and 
formed across the angle in support of Barton's and Geiger's. My attention was 
then engaged by a heavy firing upon the left of the front line, where were stationed 
the small company of United States riflemen, (then however armed with muskets,) 
and the companies of Baen, Snelling, and Prescott of the 4th regiment. I found 
major Daveiss forming the dragoons in the rear of those companies, and understanding 
that the heaviest part of the enemy's fire proceeded from some trees about fifteen or 
twenty paces in front of those companies, I directed the major to dislodge them with 
a part of the dragoons. Unfortunately the major's gallantry determined him to ex- 
ecute the order with a smaller force than was sufficient, which enabled the enemy to 
avoid him in front, and attack his flanks. The major was mortally wounded and his 
party driven back. The Indians were however immediately and gallantly dislodged 
from their advantageous position, by captain Snelling at the head of his company. 
In the course of a few minutes after the commencement of the attack, the fire ex- 
tended along the left flank, the whole of the front, the right flank, and part of the 
rear fine. Upon Spencer's mounted riflemen, and the right of Warwick's company, 
which was posted on the right of the rear line, it was excessively severe ; captain 
Spencer and his first and second lieutenants were killed, and captain Warwick was 
mortally wounded — those companies however still bravely maintained their posts, but 
Spencer had suflfered so severely, and having originally too much ground to occupy, I 
reinforced them with Robb's company of riflemen, which had been driven, or by mis- 
take ordered from their position on the left flank towards the centre of the camp, and 
filled the vacancy that had been occupied by Kobb with Prescott's company oi the 
4th United Slates regiment. My great object was to keep the lines entire, to prevent 
the enemy from breaking into the camp untU day light, which should enable me to 
make a general and eflfectual charge. With this view I had reinforced every part of 
tlie line that had suffered much; and as soon as the approach of morning, discovered 
itself, I withdrew from the front line Snelling's, Posey's (under lieutenant Albright) 
and Scott's, and from the rear line, Wilson's companies, and drew them up upon the 
left flank, and at the same time I ordered Cook's and Baen's companies, the foimer 
from the rear and the latter from the front line, to reinforce the right flank ; foreseeing 
that at these pomts the enemy would make their last efforts. Major Wells, who jom- 
manded on the left flank, not knowing my intentions precisely, had taken the com- 
mand of these companies, and charged the enemy before I had formed the body of 
dragoons with which I meant to support the infantry ; a small detachment of these 
were however ready and proved amply sufficient for the purpose. The Indians were 
driven by the infantry at the paint of the bayonet, and the dragoons pursued anJ 
forced them into a marsh, where they could not be followed. Captain Cook ami 
lieutenant Larebee had, agreeably to my order, marched their companies to the righ* 
flank, had formed them under the fire of the enemy, and being then joined by the 
riflemen of that flank, had charged the Indians, killed a immber, and put the rest to a 
precipitate flight. A favorable opportunity was here offered to pursue the enemy 

2 



16 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

with dragoons, but beins? engaged at that time on (he other flank, I did not observe it 
until it was too late. 

I have thus, sir, given you the particulars of an action wliich was certiinly main- 
tained with the groatest obstinacy and perse-craiice by both parties. The Indians 
manilcsted a ferocity uncommon even with llicm — to their savage fury our troops 
opposed that cool and deliberate valor which is characteristic of the christian 
soldier. <' . •■• i 

The most pleasing part of my dutv (that of naming to you the corps and indivi- 
duals wiio particularly distinguislied themselves) is yet to be performed. There is, 
however, considerable dilHculty in it — where merit was so common it is almost im- 
possible to discriminate. 

The whole of the infantry formed a small brigade under the immediate orders of 
colonel Boyd. The colonel throughout the action manifested equal zeal and bravery 
in carrying into execution my orders, in keeping the men to their posts and exlioriing 
them to fight with valor. His brigade-major Clark, and his aid-de-camp George 
Croghan, Esq. were also very scrviceably employed. Colonel .Iose]>h Bartholomew, 
a very valuable otlicer, commanded under colonel Boyd the militia infantry ; he was 
wounded early in the action, and his services lost to me. Major G. R. C. Floyd, the 
senior of the fourth United States regiment, commanded immediately the battalion of 
that regiment, which was in the front line ; his conduct during the action was entirely 
to my satisfaction. Lieutenant-colonel Decker, who commanded the battalion of 
mihtia on the ri^ht of the rear line, preserved his command in good order ; he was, 
however, but partially attacked. I have before mentioned to you that major-general 
Wells, of the fourth division of Kentucky militia, acted under my command as a 
major at the head of two i-oinpanies of mounted volunteers ; the general maintained 
the tame which he had already acquired in almost every campaign and in almost every 
battle which has been fought with the Indians since the settlement of Kentucky. Of 
the several corps, the foui (h United States regiment and tvi'o small companies at- 
tached to it, were certainly the most conspicuous for undaunted valor. The compa- 
nies commanded by captains Cook, Snelling and Barton, lieutenants Larebee, Peters, 
and Hawkins, were placed in situations where tliey could render most service and en- 
counter most danger, and th.'se officers eminently distinguished themselves. Captains 
Prescott and Brown performed their duty also entirely to my satisfaction, as did 
Posey's company of the seventh regiment, headed by lieutenant Albright. In short, 
sir, they supported the fame cf American regulars, and I have never heard that a sin- 
gle individual was found out )f the line of his duty. Several of the mihtia compa- 
nies were in nowise inferior to the regulars. Spencer's, Geiger's, and Warwick's 
maintained their posts amidst a monstrous carnage, as indeed did Robb's after it was 
posted on the left flank ; its loss of men (seventeen killed and wounded) and keeping 
its ground is sufficient proof of its firmness. Wilson's and Scott's companies charged 
with the regular troops and proved themselves worthy of doing so. Norris's company 
also behaved well ; Hargrove's and Wilkin's companies were placed in a situation 
where they had m opportunity of distinguishing themselves, or I am satisfied they 
would have done it. This was the case with the squadron of dragoons also. After 
major DaveisS had received his wound, knowing it to be mortal, I promoted captain 
Parke to the majority, than whom there is no better officer. 

My two aids-de-camp, majors Hurst and Taylor, with lieutenant Adams of the 
fourth regiment, the adjutant ol the troops, alforded me the most essential aid, as 
well in the action as throughout the campaign. 

The arrangements of captain Pratt in the quartermaster's department were highly 
judicious, and his exertions on all occasions, particularly in bringing olTthe wounded, 
deserve my warmest thanks. Bat in giving merited praise to the living let me not 
forget the gallant dead. Colonel Abraham Owen, commandant of the eighteenth 
Kentucky regiment, joined me a lew days before the action as a private in captain 
Geiger's company ; he accepted the appointment as volunteer aid-de-camp to me; he 
fell early in tlie action. The representatives of hia state will inform you that she 
possessed not a heller citizen nor a braver man. Major J. II. Daveiss was known as 
an able lawyer and a great orator ; ho joined me as a private volunteer, and on the 
recommendatioi, of llie officers of that corps, was appointed to command the third 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. M? 

troop of dragoons. His comUict in that capacity justified their choice ; never wag 
there an ollicer possessed of more ardor ami Zfal to discharge his duty vvitk jiropriely, 
and never ope who would have encountered greater danger to purchase military fdine. 
captain Baen, of the fourth United States regiment, was killed early in the action; 
ho w.'is unquestionably a good officer and valiant soldier. Captains Spencer and 
Warwick, and lieutenants McMahan and Berry, wore all my particular friends ; I 
have ever had the utmost confidence in their valor, and I was not deceived. Spen- 
cer was wounded in the head — he exhorted his men to fight vidiantly — he was shut 
t'hrotigh both thighs, and fell, still continuing to encourage them — he waa raised up 
and received a ball through his body, which put an immediate end to his existence I 
Warwick was shot immediately through the body : being taken to the surgery to be 
dressed, as soon as it was over (being a man of great bodily vigour and still able to. 
walk) he insisted upon going back to head his company, although it was evident that 
he had but a few hours to live. ' 

'•'All these gentlemen, sir, captain Baen excepted, have left wives, and five of them 
large fomilies of children ; this is the case too with many of the privates among the 
militia' who fell in the action or who have died since of their wounds. Will the 
bounty of their country be withheld from their helpless orphans, many of whom 
will be m the most destitute condition, and perhaps want even the necessaries of 
life'*' -With respect to the number of Indians that were engaged against u.s, I ■ am 
possessed of no data by which I can form a correct statement. It musr, however, 
have been considerable, and perhaps not much inferior to our own ; which, deduct- 
ing the dragoons, who were unable to do us much service, was very little above 
seven hundred non-commissioned officers and privates; I am convinced there were at 
least six hundred. The prophet had three weeks before four hundred and fifty of his 
own proper followers. I am induced to believe that he was joined ^ a number of the 
lawless vagabonds who live on the Illinois riyer,.as large trails *V?ere seen coming 
from that direction. Indeed, I shall not be surprised to find that some of thos6 who 
professed the warmest friendship for us were arrayed against us — 'tis certain that one 
of this description came out from the town and spoke to me the night before the 
action. The Patawatamie chief whom I mentioned to have been wourided and 
taken prisoner in my letter of the 8th inst., I left oq the battle ground, after 
having taken all the care of him in my power. I requested him to inform those 
of his own tribe who had joined the prophet and Kickapoos and Winebagoes, that if 
they would immediately abandon the prophet and return to their own tribes, their past 
conduct would be forgiven, and that we would treat them as we formerly had done. 
He assured me that he would do so, and there was no doubt of their compliance. 
Indeed, he said, that he was certain that they' would ^ut the prophet to death. I 
think upon the whole that there will be no further hostilities : but of this I shall be 
enabled to give you some more certain information in a few days. 

The.Uoops left the battle ground on the 9th inst.., it took ever^' wagon to transport 
the wounded. We rnanaged, however, |;o bring off the public property, although 
almost all the private baggage of the officers was necessarily destroyed. 

It may perhaps be imagined, sir, that some means might have been adopted to have 
made a more earli.-r discovery of the approach of the enemy to our camp the morning 
of the 7th instant, I ut if I had employed two-thirds of the army as out-posts it would 
have .'been inetiectual, the Indians in such a night would have found means to have 
passed between them. Placed in the situation that we were, there is no other mode 
of avoiding a surprise, than by a chain of ceiuinels so close together that the enemy 
cannot pass between without discovery. And having the army in such readiness 
that they can get to their alarm posts at a m.oment's warning. Our troops could 
noS'have been, better prepared than they were, unless they had been kept under arms 
the whole night, as they lay with their accoutrements on, and their arms by their 
^des, and the moment they were up they were at their posts. If the centinels and the 
guard had done their duty, evcri the troops on the left flank would have been pre- 
pared to receive the Indians. 

I have the honor to enclose you a correct return of the killed and wounded. The 
wounded suffered very much before their arrival here, but they are now comfortably 
fixed, and every attention has been and shall continue to be paid to them. Doctor 
3 B 2 



18 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOCK- 

Foster is not only possessed of great professional merit, but is moreover a man of 
feeling ami honor. 

I am convinced, sir, that the Indians lost many more men than we did — they left 
from thirty-six to forty on the field. They were seen to take off not only the wounded 
but the dead. An Indian that was killed and scalped in the beginning of the action 
by one of our men, was found in a house in the town ; several others were also found 
in the houses, and many graves which were fresh dug : one of them was opened and 
found to contain three dead bodies. 

Our infantry used principally cartridges containing twelve buck shot which were 
admirably calculated for a night action. 

I have before informed you, sir, that colonel Miller was prevented by illness from 
going on the expedition — he rendered essential service in the command of Fort Harri* 
son ; he is an officer of great merit 

There are so many circumstances which it is important for you to know, respecting 
the situation of this country that I have thought it best to commit this despatch to my 
aid-de-camp, major Taylor, who will have the honor of delivering it to you, and whp 
will be able to give you more satisfaction than I could do by writing. Major Taylor 
(who is also one of our supreme judges) is a man of integrity and honor, and you 
may rely upon any statement he may make. 

With the highest respect, I have the honor to be, sir, your humble servant. 

William Henry Hakrison. 

P. S. Not a man of ours was taken prisoner, of three scalps which were taken 
two of them were recovered." 

The battle of Tippecanoe placed a complete check to the hostilities of the Indians 
in that quarter, and enabled governor Harrison to resume his civil duties ; and on the 
meeting of the territorial legit^lature, in November, 1811, he addressed the members in 
the following speech, inserted in Niles, vol. i. p. 321. 

* Gentlemen of the legislative council, and 

Gentlemen of the house of representatives, 

The execution of an order received from the President of the United Staters, at the 
head of a body of our troops, prevented me from meeting you at the time to which you 
were prorogued by my last proclamation. Although this circumstance may produce 
some personal inconvenience to you, and perhaps a little additional expense to the ter- 
ritory, it will not I am sure be regretted, when it is recollected that the result of the 
expedition which I had the honor to command is a complete victory over the hostile 
combination of Indians which had been formed by the Shawanese prophet. It is with 
equal pleasure and pride, gentlemen, that I have it in my power to inform you that in 
an action where undaunted valor was conspicuous in every corps, our own militia be- 
haved in a manner to do credit to themselves as well as the territory. 

The numerous duties which claim my attention at this time, gentlemen, will prevent 
me from giving my opinion upon such subjects as require legislative provision. The 
most important of these, however, you will find discussed at length in my former ad- 
dresses. Permit mc to recommend to you industry and concord in the discharge of 
your functions, and be assured of my cordial co-operation in every measure which 
may be calculated for the benefit of our constituents. 

Wm. H. Harrison. 

Vlncennes, 19/A Nov. 

To his excellency William Hejjrt Harrisox, governor and commander-in-chief 
in and over the Indiana lerritory. 

Sir — The house of representatives of the Indiana territory in their own name, and 
in behalf of their constituents, most cordially reciprocate the congratulations of your 
excellency on the glorious result of the late sanguinary conflict with the Shawanoe 
jirophet, and the tril)es of Indians confederated with him : when we see displayed in 
Uihalf of our country not only the consummate abilities of the general, but tho 
heroism of tlie man ; and where we take into view the benefits which must result to 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. W 

that country, from those exertions ; we cannot for a mordent withhold our meed of 

applause. 

We shuU cordially and industriously endeavour to ca-opcrate with you, sir, in such 
measures as may best comport with the immediate interests of our territory — and 
although we may lament the occasion which gave rise to the iiccessacy delay of legis- 
lative business, yet wc feel it to be our duly as patriots, as representatives, and as men, 
to subiVrit without a murmur to any inconvenience which the good of our common 
countr|f 'may require. 

GeX. W. JollNSOTf, 

Speaker of the house of representatives. 
Represenfafiirs Chamber, 
ISovember, 1811. 

Gentlemen of the house of representatives. 

Believing as I do that the highest reward which a republican soldier can receive, is 
the approbation of his fellow-citizens, I cannot be otherwise than highly gratified at 
the applause which you have been pleased to bestow on my conduct as commander of 
the late expedition. It has ever been my wish, gentlemen, to deserve the confidence 
of vour constituents. To promote their welfare and happiness, has been, for years, 
the' great object of my cares, and if in the late action it had pleased the Almighty to 
seal with my life the victory, which was to ensure their safety, the sacrifice would 

have been cheerfully made. 

Wm. H. Hahiiison." 

The following resolutions were also passed by the legislature of Kentucky, and pub- 
lished in Niles, vol. i. p. 391. 

Legislature or Ket^tuckt, Jan. 7, 1812. 

Resolved, By the senate and house of representatives of the state of Kentucky, in 
the late campaign against the Indians upon the Wabash, governor Wm. Henry Har- 
rison has behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a general ; and that for his cool, delibe- 
rate, skilful and gallant conduct in the battle of Tippecanoe, he well deserves the 
warmest thanks of his country and the nation. 

'" Resolved, That the governor of this state be requested to transmit a copy of the 
above resolution to governor Wm. Henry Harrison." 



CHAPTER HI. 

goti;h:soii haurison appointed a brigadier-general in the tnited states 
armt, by the president of the united states; and major-general bt 
the governor of kentucky, with the command of the kentcckt 

TROOPS, &C. 

In August, 1812, governor Harrison was appointed a brigadier-general in the army 
of the United States, by president Madison, and major-general by the governor of the 
state of Kentucky, with the command of the Kentucky troops. The former appoint- 
ment he refused to accept; but he resigned the government of the territory of Indiana 
and continued the campaign with the brave Kentuckians. On the 11th of September, 
1812, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the north-western army, by president 
^ladison. 

■4, I'he following paragraphs from Niles, in reference to his movements. &c.. are inte- 
resting. < 

In vol. iii, p. 25, the editor of that work says — 

" The governor of Kentucky, learning the critical situation of general Hull, deter 
mined to send a reinforcement of volunteers to general Payne, so as to make his wholo 
fone three thousand four hundred strong. He also appointed governor Harrison a 
inajor-geuerttl, to have the command of the Kentucky troops, by brevet, a procedur* 



20 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

cxtreraelv well calculated to give confidence to the army of that state in the field. 
Kichaiil i\I. Johnson, a member of congress from Kentucky, proposed to raise six com- 
panies {five hundred men) of mounted infantry, volunteers, to march immediately for 
Detroit, and to trust to the liberality and justice of cpngrcss for indemnilication. A 
meeting was to be held at Georgetown on the 3 1st ult. ; and from the spirit of Ken- 
tucky, though the proposition was made only on the 2.5th of the same month, we 
venture to say that this body of men is in the field — perhaps at Urbanna, or bp^nd it. 
Major-general Harrison left Lexington on the 29lh ult. to join the army in Jliio — 
Colonel Poague's regiment of live hundred mounted rillemcn were prepared to march. 
The augmentation of the troops and the appointment ^f Harrison, was the last act 
of goo<l old general Scott, as governor of Kentucky: his venerable fellow soldier who 
succeeded him, colonel Shelby, on coming into office, made a further augmentation of 
the troops; so that the whole force from Kentucky, niarched to Ohio and the Indiana 
territory, will amount to six thousand men, in actual service. These things tvitl never 
be forgotten," 

In the same volume, pp. 40. 57. 107. 1.54. 31.5, we find the annexed editorial notices : 

"Majw-generaJ Harrison was received with shouts of applause by the army of 
volunteers assembled in the state of Ohio. We have full faith that he will do all that 
is expected of him. The troops are well supplied. It is stated that the whole body, 
six thousand strong, has marched towards Fort Wayne." 

" Many detachments of volunteers are still marching from Kentucky to the frontiers, 
under the command of the much beloved Harrison. We confidently trust that glory 
will attend them." 

"The British are making use of every means to defend themselves in Canada, and 
appear determined to dispute every inch of ground. The surrender at Detroit has 
given them great spirit and energy. On the other hand, gen. Harrison is by this time, 
in all probability, in Upper Canada, and due eflorts are made to keep the forces in 
Lower Canada in check until the proper time arrives to pay that country a visit ; a 
period not far distant, from present appearances. 

Language fails when we attempt to sjjeak of the people of Ohio and Kentucky as 
they deserve. Almost every man able to carry a musket seems willing to use it in 
defence of his country. More persons have marched from Kentucky than were 
wanted ; and about twelve hundred have returned home severely mortified, but holding 
themselves in readine.ss for some future occasion. At the call of their beloved Harrisoti, 
great numbers of mounted rijlemen have marched to join him for an excursion of 
thirty or forty days, finditig thenLselves with provisions. These corps are designed 
to break up and destroy the Indian tribes, and lay waste their country. The deluded 
murderers have brought themselves to destruction — through British influence. Many 
private letters from the western country inform us that the late depredations of the 
savages have wrought the people into a fury of resentment and vengeance. They 
will exact a terrible guarantee for the future safety of the frontiers. 

It was the original design of government that gen. Winchester, a very reputable 
gentleman and an old revolutionary officer, should have the command of the army, 
destined, in the first instance, for the relief of general Hull, and, since his surrender, 
intended to regain the ground lost, &c. In consequence of which, after his arrival at 
Fort Wayne, general Harrison on the 19th ult. took leave of the army in a very aflei.- 
tionate manner, and set out for the Indiana territory with a bod}' of troops, to break 
up the settlements of the savages. ' Bot the Phksidkjjt of the Unitei>' StAtks, 

BKEIXO THE COXFIDENCE THAT THE WESTEBX PEOPLE IW OENEHAL nKPOSET) IX 

CEX. Hauuisox, HAn APPoiNTEn iiiM co>iMAXi)EU-i v-cH I KF. The commission for 
this purpose reached him a few days after his resignation of it to general Winchester ; 
and it ojjjiears he resumed it about the 23d of the same month at Fort Wayne, from 
whence a detachment of troo[)s under general Winchester has inarched to Fort De- 
fiance, where it is said a Jarge body of allies, three thousand strong, were collected. 
We are without particulars, but hope this report is true, believing it impossible they 
can escape Harrison and Winchester with their mounted riflemen, who amount to more 
ihan that number. 'I'licir whole force exceeds ten thousand men." 

" Many pieces of cannon have been .sent from the neighbourhood of Pittsburg for the 
iW)rtii-we>;U.'rn army. In every preparation and arrangement we discover an invariabk 



THE TIPPECAMOE TEXT-BOOK. ZWi 

inienlion to do the husincss effcdualh/. Harrison's measures will, at all timrs, secure 
him a coniinunicatiori with Oliio, in case the enemy's tbrce brought against him is 
powerful enough to resist him, or to attempt to cut oil" his supplies, of which, however, 
there does not appear any probability. But ' caution is the parent of security.' We 
look for a very interesting detail from the general." 

" General Harrison arrived at Chilicothe about the 2Gth ult. to consult with governor 
Meigs, it is stated, on business of importance. The Sciota Gazette informs us that he, 
will not accept the commission of a biigadicr-gcneral in the United States army, but 
continue the campaign as major-general of the Kentucky quota, after which it is his 
intention to retire into private life. He has resigned the government of the Indiana 
Territory, in a very handsome letter to the secretary of state. We trust the services 
of this beloved man, uniting in himself the entire confidence of the iDCxftrn people,- 
whose prudence, patience, and perseverance have given security to the frontiers, threat- 
ened by the most formidable combinations of while and red savages that ever were 
known, will not be lost to his country. 

One hundred wagon loads of provisions have been sent from Erie to meet Harri- 
son's army at the Rapids of the Miami. We see nothing in the wei^t like going into 
winter quarters." 

" We have the pleasure to learn that the patriotism of the western volunteers is steady, 
continned, and invincible. They cheerfully bear their privations without a murmur, 
and always ready, in season and out of season, to perform any duty required. They 
have no ' constitutional objections' against proceeding to Canada, but all pant for the 
time to arrive when humbled Maiden shall atone for surrendered Detroit." 

Extract of a letter to the editor of the " Register," vol. iii. p. 282. 

Chilicothe, Dec. 22, 1812. 

" Dear Sin — It is probable you are desirous to know what ia going on in this 
quarter at this important period. General Harrison, who has lately removed his head- 
quarters from Franklinton to Delaware, is, it is said, about to proceed, and perhaps 
has already commenced his march to Sandusky, with a view, it is most probable, of 
concentrating the whole force of the north-western army, either at that place or at the 
Rapids of the Miami — most probably at the latter. The different divisions have been 
lying at different points for some time past. The left wing, composed of a regiment 
of regulars commanded by col. Wells, and the Kentucky volunteers, the whole under 
the command of gen. Winchester, is at the Rapids, to which place it lately proceeded 
from Fort Winchester, (late Fort Defiance.) The right wing is composed of the 
detachments from Pennsylvania and Virginia. That from Pennsylvania, under the 
command of brig. gen. Crooks, has been some time at Mansfield. The detachment 
from Virginia, commanded by brig. gen. Leftwick, has been lying at Delaware. Tho 
centre of the army is composed of Ohio volunteers and militia, under command of 
brig. gen. Tupper, and a regiment of regulars under command of col. Miller. Gen. 
Tupper's brigade is at Fort M'Arthur. The whole force will probably amount to 
seven or eight thousand. Such a force, principally brave, hardy 'backwoodsmen,' 

COMMANDED BY THE WASHINGTON OF THE WeST THE EXCELLENT, THE UNIVER- 
SALLY BELOVED Harrison, will be able to accomplish every thing which 

CAN BE EXPECTED OF THEM." 

Proclamation of R, J. Meigs, governor of Ohio, Niles, vol. iii. p. 39. 

" Whereas, the United States are now at war with Great Britain, whose forces 
are aided by savages of the most ferocious nature — and the frontiers of the state of 
Ohio are exposed to their cruelties and depredations, as well as to the machinations 
of traitors and spies — creating discontent among our citizens, and giving to our ene- 
mies information of our situation, force, and movements. 

In order, therefore, as far as lays in our power, to prevent such cruelties, machina- 
tions, treachery, and spying, 

I issue this my proclamation, exhorting the citizens and inhabitants of the state of 
O'nio to a strict observance of all their duties as such, requiring all military officers 
according to their rank, to be strict in their attention to discipline, arms, and order of 
all those under their command; and to hold themselves in constant readiness for ac- 
tive service. 

Also, requiring all magistrates, conservators of the peace, and all civil officers and 



22 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

others, to be vi^Iant in the apprehension and commitment of such traitors and spies, 
in order that they may be dealt with according to law. R. J. Meios, 

Governor of Ohio. 
Piqua, September 2, 1812. 

Fellow citizens, 

At a moment like this, I appeal to your valor and patriotism. 

Major-fjcneral HAnnisoN- will rendezvous a respectable force of Kentucky volun- 
teers at Dayton, on the 15th instant, for a short expedition. Gen. Harrison desires 
to add to his troops any number of volunteers from the state of Ohio, who will serve 
on an expedition not exceeding thirty days. All those who will embrace this favor- 
able opportunity of distinguishing themselves under an able commander, and of ren- 
dering the state of Ohio a valuable service, will, in their equipments and movements, 
follow the directions of general Harrison hereto subjoined. R. J. Meigs, 

Governor of Ohio. 

TOICUTEEIIS WANTED ! 

Any number of volunteers, mounted, and prepared for active service, to continue 
for twenty-five or thirty days, will be accepted to rendezvous at the town of Dayton, 
on the Big Miami, on the 15th inst. It is expected that the volunteers will provide 
themselves v^-ith salt provisions and a proportion of biscuits. Those who are unable 
to provide themselves will be furnished if possible. 

Those brave men who may give their services on this occasion, may be assured, 
that an opportunity for distinguishins; themselves mil be afforded — I shall command 
the expedition in person, and the number of troops will be entirely adequate to the ob- 
ject proposed. 

I wish also to hire a number of substantial horses. Fifty cents per day will be 
allowed for each horse which is provided with a saddle and bridle. 

Those patriotic citizens, who are unable to atford their personal assistance, will 
render essential service to their country by furnishing the horses — which must be 
delivered in Dayton on the 14th instant, to a person who will be authorized to receive 
and receipt for them. William Henry Hahrison." 

Extract from the reply of governor Meigs to the memorial of the citizens of Chi- 
licothe, Ohio, on the subject of protecting the frontiers. Niles, vol. iii. p. 61. 

"At Greenville, blockhouses and a stockade are forming. Stations will be pre- 
served at Lormies and St. Mary's. On the Urbana route to Maume, Fort Manary and 
Fort M'Arthur are reinforced and the works enlarged by the erection of additional 
blockhouses and piquets. At Urbana, general Tupper has nearly eight hundred six- 
months' troops, in good order ; which, if offensive operations should be resumed, will 
be placed under the order of general Harrison — if defensive only, they may be placed 
at different stations, to cover the frontiers. Governor Harrison has been appointed 
major-general by brevet, by the executive of Kentucky, and is now marching to this 
place five regiments of infantry, one of riflemen, one of dragoons, and one of mounted 
riflemen, making in the aggregate more than four thousand men. To these will be 
added colonel Well's regiment of the United States troops, now under the command 
of general Harrison, he being brigadier-general in the service of the United States. 
These forces will not be idle ; they will soon engage the attention of the Indians from 
our frontiers; and it is highly fortunate, that the forces are to be commanded by gene- 
ral Harrison, in whom is united the confi^dence of the inhabitants of the west." 

Extract from the general orders of general Harrison in relation to colonel Campbell's 
heroic expedition against the Massassineway villages, December, 1812. See ISiles, 
vol. iii. p. 331. 

" The general cannot pass by the opportunity that is afforded him, by bestowing 
deserved commendation upon a detachment of his army, without recurring to the 
merits of the other corps. They have not had, as yet, their wishes gratified in meet- 
ing the enemy ; but they have, nevertheless, performed hard service under great de- 
privations. The Ohio brigades are exerting themselves with vigor and elTecl in per- 
fecting their discipline, and performing some works requiring great labor. Those from 
Virginb and Pennsylvania are vieing with each other in the path of duty and disci- 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 28^ 

pline, to a dcprce rarely equalled and never excelled. Since their arrival at Sandusky, 
a proper sense of subordination everywhere prevails, and the infamous principle, that 
the claims of patriotism would be satisfied by marching to the hnes and looking at 
the enemy, is so completely exploded, that the general believes his authority would 
be scarcely sufficient to protect from the vengeance of the soldiery the wretch who 
should have the temerity to insult them by suggesting it. The general is happy in 
believing that his own Kenluckians are not behind the other corps of the army in the 
race of patriotism and duty. He has heard with a satisfaction that he cannot find 
words to express, that the brigade with which he first took the field, and whose disci- 
pline has been confirmed and extended under the immediate direction of his worthy 
second, general Winchester, have borne with fortitude and cheerfulness an unex- 
ampled privation of a principal article of the ration. The general records the cir 
cumstances for the edification and example of the rest of the army." 



CHAPTER IV. 

DEFEAT OF GENEKAL WINCHESTER AT THE RITER RAISIX, OX THE 542D OF JA- 
NUARY, 1813, SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS, &C. 

The defeat of general Winchester and the savage cruelties inflicted upon the Ame- 
rican prisoners by the Indians, caused a feeling of deep despondency throughout the 
country. But, said Niles, vol. iii. p. 381. " Amidst the gloom that these details pre- 
sent, loe have cause to rejoice in the hope that Harrison and the brave spii-its that ac- 
company him, are rather stimulated than daunted by them — panting to avenge the 
bloody deed. And we confidently trust that his ulterior objects will rather be accele- 
rated by the increased ardour of his troops, than retarded by this unfortunate aflair." 

The following is general Harrison's account of the melancholy affair, contained in 
a letter from him to governor Meigs, dated. Head-quarters, Carrying river, 24th of 
January, 1813. Niles, vol. iii. p. 381. 

"Dear Sir, — The event of which I expressed so much apprehension in my letter 
to you, from Lower Sandusky, has happened. The detachment under col. Lewis 
was reinforced by general Winchester with two hundred and fifty men. He attended 
it, and took the command at the river Raisin on the 20th, and on the 22d he was 
attacked at reveille, by a considerable British and Indian force with six pieces of 
artillery : the troops being surprised, and the ground unfavorable, had but little oppor- 
tunity of forming to advantage. They were surrounded and broke in twenty or 
twenty-five minutes. A major and captain and about twenty-five privates were all 
that effected their escape. 

I had but three hundred and sixty men with me about three miles above the Rapids, 
where the news first reached me. I immediately ordered them to prepare to march ; 
and set out with my staff to overtake a detachment of three hundred men that had 
set out that morning for the river Raisin. I overtook them at the distance of six 
miles, but before the other troops (colonel Andrews' Ohio regiment) came up, it was 
ascertained that the defeat was complete, and it was the unanimous opinion of gene- 
rals Payne, Perkins, and the field officers, that we should return. A detachment to 
the amount of one hundred and seventy of the most active men, was sent forward 
with directions to proceed as far as possible to assist those who were fortunate enough 
to escape ; there were however but few, the snow was so deep that the fugitives were 
entirely exhausted in running a few miles ; those that did get otT effected it by turn- 
ing down to the lake and secreting themselves. I believe there were not more than 
forty or fifty that got a mile from the scene of action, and the greater part of them 
were overtaken. 

Never were the affairs of any army in a more prosperous situation than ours before 
the unfortunate step of marching the detachment to the river Raisin; it w?s made not 
only without any authority from me, but in opposition to my views. Every thing, 
in my power was, however, done to prevent any disaster, and reinforcements were 
pushed on with as much rapidity as possible ; major Cotgreve's< battalion, the first 



24 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

in the armv, was within fourteen miles of the scene of action, when he heard of the 
Jefeat, ant! three hundred res;ular troops were also on their way. I remained at the 
Kanids with one resinient only. In justice to general Winchester, I must observe, 
that I have understood that the measure (marchinc; the detachment to the Raisin river) 
was forced upon him hy his officers ; but, whatever may have been the cause, and 
however great the calamity, both as it regards the nation and individuals, it is certainly 
not irreparable. By the unanimous advice of the general and field officers, I took 
this position yesterday, for the puri>ose of forcing a junction with the troops in the 
rear, atid to cover the very valuable convoy of artillery and stores that are coming 
from Upper Sandusky. Unless the weather is very unfavorable, I shall be at the 
Kapids again in four or five days, and shall certainly give the enemy an opportunity 
of measuring their strength with us in another contest. For myself, I feel no doubt 
as to the result, and if I can judge of the disposition of the troops, from the manner 
in which they received an address from me yesterday, a desire of avenging their lost 
companions and retrieving their country's disgrace is the predominant passion that 
occupies their minds. 

I know not what proportion the prisoners of general Winchester's late troops bear 
to the killed ; some of the French who have come in, report the latter at five hundred 
and others at eight hundred. The detachment amounted to near one thousand. 

I am, with much regard, dear sir, your humble servant, Wm. H. HAniiisoir. 

His excellency governor Meigs." 

We next find general Harrison at the Rapids (of the Miami.) A letter to the 
editor of the " Register" (vol.jii. p. 408) says : — 

" The general had taken a strong position, fortified his camp, and planted his 
artillery. The term of service of two brigades of Ohio militia having expired, it is 
intimated he may wait for reinforcements, from that state and Kentucky, now on the 
way to join him. Fuom all that we see of Haiirisox, we trust he will put 

IS A GOOD CLAIM TO THE BRILLTANT TITLE THE PEOPLE OF THE COUN'TRT HE IS IST 

DELIGHT TO GIVE HIM — ' THE Washixgtox OF THE West.' It is Stated that three 
persons, sent by him with a flag of truce to the officer commanding the enemy, have 
been murdered. 

From the accounts we have of the success of the recruitmg service in all parts of 
the United States, there are the strongest reasons to believe a number of regulars suf- 
ficient for all the purposes required will be had by the time they are wanted. Various 
detachments are about to proceed to the Niagara frontier, with a view, no doubt, to 
co-operate with general Harrison." 

Extract of letter to the editor of the "Register," dated Chilicothe, February 18, 
1813, vol. iv. p. 13. 

"General Harrison having been informed that a large body of Indians were assem- 
bled at Presqu'isle, marched from his camp at the Rapids on the 9th inst, at the head 
of a detachment of his army, in order to attack them. Upon the arrival of the 
detachment at Presqu'isle, they found that the Indians had decamped. Our troops 
pursued them until they came within eight miles of the River Raisin ; when finding 
that they could not come up with them, and being exhausted, they returned to camp. 
Such was the ardour of the troops to overtake the enemy, that they inarched sixty 
miles in ttcrnty-one hours." 

General Harrison returned to the Rapids and built a fort, which he called Fort 
Meigs, but, at about this time the enemies of the country got up a very pretty little 
account of his capture, with a view to have an effect upon the New Hampshire 
flection ! which was then about to take place. On the 16th of March, 1813, he re- 
jiaircd to Chilicothe to hasten the reinforcements for the north-western army ; from 
thence he proceeded to Cincinnati on the same patriotic duty. On the 2d ot 
April, in the same year, he left Cincinnati for Fort Meigs, and on the 26th, that 
fort was besieged by the British and Indians. 

"On that day," says a letter to William Creighton, jun. esq. (Niles, vol iv, p. 191.) 
•' the enemy's columns showed themselves opposite to Fort Meigs. On the 27th, some 
Indians crossed the river in the rear of the fort. On the 1st, 2d and 3d of May, the 
f npmy opened their batteries and kept up an incessant and tremendous fire, from five and 
u half and eight and n half inch howitzers, one twenty-four pounder and several lighter 



' m 




THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. |$ 

pieces. Tlie shells and l)alls,i]uriiig that period, showered in the fort, but littln execution 
wasdonc: only eight pr ten men kjUod, during that period in the fort. 8ila.s M'Culloch, 
a brave, and gallant man, is among the slain. On the rtight of the 3d, the enemy 
prectcd a gun and mortar battery, on this j>ide of the river, witliin two hundred and fifty 
yards of our lines, but were soon forced to take a more respectful distance. About 12 
o'clock on the night of the 4th, an officer arrived in a boat from general Clay, to inforni 
the general of his approach, and that he would reach Fort Meigs in about two 
hours. 

General Harrison determined on a general sally, and sent an officer to general Clay, 
directing him to land eigh^ hundred men some short distance above, to attack and 
carry the enemy's batteries, spike the cannon and destroy the artillery. Ceneral Clay 
was unfortunately delayed longer than he expected in passing the liapids, and the de- 
tachment destined to make the attack did not reach the landing until near nine o'clock 
— this, however, did not prevent them from making the attempt, and never was any- 
thing more completely successful ; the four batteries were immediately taken possession 
of, and their defenders driven off, and their cannon spiked. The work was done, but 
that confidence which always attends militia when successful, proved their ruin. Al- 
though there was time sufficient to return to the boats before a reinforcement arrived 
to the enemy, they remained upon the ground, in spite of the repeated calls which 
were made from the fort to bring them back to their boats, and' suffered themselves to 
be amused and drawn into the woods by some feint skirmishing, while the British 
troops and an immense quantity of Indians were brought up ; a severe action then 
took place. The British immediately intercepted the retreat of our men to the plain 
and the river, where they would have been under cover of our caimon : about one 
hundred and fifty only out of nearly eight hundred effected their escape to the boats. 
When the balance of general Clay's force made its appearance and attempted to land 
above the garrison, their flank was attacked by a large body of Indians. 

General Harrison immediately ordered out a detachment consisting of a part of the 
I9th United States regiment, about one hundred twelve-months' volunteers and some 
militia; they however succeeded in driving the enemy entirely off, pursuant to the 
plan general Harrison had formed. 

An attack was then made upon the batteries on this side ef the river, conducted by 
colonel Miller, of the 1 9th regiment, with part of his regiment, the aforesaid volun-, 
teers, and the few militia; this attempt was successful. The enemy were driven from 
their works — a number killed, and two British officers and forty-one privates brought 
into camp, 
(^.'fhis attack was intended to be simultaneous with that on the other side, and 
it was nearly so. Notwithstanding the loss sustained by the Kentucky militia, the 
events of the day have been honorable to the American arms." 

Copy of a letter from gieneral Wm. H. Harrison to the Secretary of War. 

' " Head- Quarters, Camp Meigs, 9ih May, 1813. 

Sir — I have the honor to inform you that the enemy having been several days 
making preparations for raisi.ng the seige of this post, accomplished this day the 
removal of their artillery from the opposite bank, and about 12 o'clock left their 
encampment below, were soon embarked and out of sight. I have the honor to 
enclose you an agreement entered into between general Proctor and myself for 
the discharge of the prisoners of the Kentucky militia in his possession, and for 
the exchange of the officers ano! men of the regular troops which were respectively 
possessed by us. My. anxiety to get the Kentucky troops released as early as 
possible, induced me to agree to the dismission of all the prisoners I had, although 
there was not as many of ours in general Proctor's possession. The surplusage is t9 
be accounted for, and an equal number of ours released frpm their parole, whenever 
the government may think proper to direct it. ,, .., ^^ 

The two actions on this side the river en the .^th, were infinitely more important 
and more honorable to our arms, than I had at first conceived. In the sortie 
made upon the left flank, captain \\^aring's company of the 19th regiment, a detach- 
ment of twelve-months' volunteers under major Alexander, and three companies 
of Kentucky militia under colonel l^oswell, defeated at least double the number ot" 
Indians and British militia^ -lij 

4 C 



26 fitE •'riPPECANOte TEXT-BOOK. 

' The s6rtic on the right was still more glorious ; the British batteries in thnf 
direction were 3efenilcil by the jrVenadicr and lig^ht infantry companies of the' 41st 
regiment, amounting' to tv/H hundicd elVectives and two companies of militia, flankec? 
by a host of Indians. Thfedetaohinent sent to atl;ic-k this consisted of all the men off 
duty beloniring to the companies of Croghan and Bradfonl of the 17th regiment, 
Langham. Elliott's' (late Graham's) and Waring's of the l&th, about eighty of major 
Aiexahder's volunteers, and a single company of Kentucky militia under captain 
iSebry, amounting in the whole to not more than three hundred and forty. Yet' 
the event of the action was not a moment doubtful, and had not the British troops 
been covered in their retreat by their allies, the whole of them woulsl have been 
taken. ■'' ■' : ■ '' - 

■°!t is not possible for troops to behave better than ours did throughout — all the offi- 
cdts exerted themselves to execute my orders, and the enemy who had a full 
view of our operations from the opposite shore, declared tliat they had never seen 
s<> much work performed in so short a time. 

'To all the commtindants of corps I feel particular obligations. These vriere' colonel 
Miller of the 19th infantry, colonel Mills of the Ohio militia, major Stoddard of the- 
artillery, major Ball of the dragoons, and major Johnson of the Kentucky militia. 
Captain <Traiio( of the engineers having been for a long time much indisposed, the 
task of fortif^'ing this post devolved on captain Wood. It could not have been placed 
ifi better hands. Permit me to recommend him to the president, artd to assure you 
that any mark of his approbation bestowed on captain Wood, would' be highly grati- 
fying to the whole of the troops, who witnessed his arduous exertions. 

From m:ijor Huhill, acting inspector-general, my aid-de-camj), major Graham, lien- 
tcnaht OTallon, who has done the duty of assistant adjutant-general in absence 
of major Adams, arid rny voliinleer aid-de-camp John Johnson, esq., I received the 
most useful assistance. .::.),., joi • 

•T have the honor to enclose j-ou a list of the killed and wounded during the' seige 
and in the two sorties ; those of the latter were much greater than I had at first 
expected. ." ' - "" 

Want of sleep and exposure to the continued rains which have fallen almost every 
daiy for some tinie past, renders me incapable of mentioning- many interesting particu- 
lars ; amongst others a most extraordinary proposition of general Proctor, on the 
subject of the Indians within our boundary— this shall form the subject of a commu- 
nication to be made to-morrowor the next day, arid fof which I shall provide a safer 
conveyance than that which carries this. All the prisoners and deserters agree in 
saying, that the information given to major 'Stoddard by Ryland, of the British havirig 
launched a sloop of War this spring is incorrect, and the most of them say that the 
one which is now building will not be launched for many weeks. 

I have the honor to be, sir. with great respect, your humble servant. ' 

Hun. John Ar/ns/roiig, Secretary of War. , Wm. Henut Harrison. 

P. y. — Captain Price of the regiment of light artillery, and the twentieth regulars, 
J^i^'soncrs with general Proctor, were taken on the N. W. side of the river, with' the 
Kentucky militia. We had no prisoners taken on this side during the .siege." 

" Head-quaiters, Fori Mdgs, 9th May, 1812: ' 
■''GeWt.iiai. oKDF.ns. — The information received by the general,' and the movement: 
of the enemy indicating their having abandoned the siege of this post, the general^ 
crtfigratulates his troO^ on having tompleteiy fdil6d their foes and put a stop to that' 
direer of victory which has hitherto attended thfcir arms. He cannot find words to''^ 
fexpfessTiis^onse of the good conduct of the troops of every description and of evcry^ 
rbrps, as well in maintaining and returning the hca^7 fire of the ipneniy, as for their 
assiduity and patience in the performance of those laborious duties which the occasion 
called for. Where merit was so general — indeed, almost ntiiversal — it is difficult to 
HiWiriminafe. 'J'he general canriot, however, omit to mention the names of thosu 
\*''hoKe situation gave'thcrn an opportunity of being more particulJirly uscfuL Frbrit 
thclong illness of captain Gratiot, of the corps of engineers, the ahhious Smd im-' 
portent duties of fortityinji;' the camp devolved on captain Wood, of that corps. In' 
Msigriing to htni the first palm of hierit, as far as it relates to the transactions withiir 
tJ»e works, the general is convinced tliat liis decision will be <iwarded by e\-ery indt-' 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. '*7 

vitlual in camp who witnessed his indefatigable exertions, his consummate skill in pro- 
vidiii!^ for the safety of every ])oint, and in foilinc; every attempt of the enemy, and 
his undaunted bravery in the performance of his duty in the most exposed situations. 
An nnlovtunate wound in the commencement of tlie siege deprived the general, after 
that time, of the able services of major Sioddard. of the artillery, whose zeal and 
talents had been eminently useful. Captain Gratiot, in the remission of a severe ill- 
ness, took charge of a battery, and managed it with ability and efl'ect. Captain 
Gushing, of the artillery, and captain Hall, of the seventeenth infantry, (but doing 
duty vvitii the former corps) were extremely active and attentive to their post. Colonel 
Miller and major Todd, of the nineteenth United States infantry ; majors Ball, of 
the dragoons, Sodwick and major Ritzer of the Ohio militia, and major Johnson of 
the Kentucky militia, rendered the most important services. To each of the above 
gentlemen, as well as to each captain, subaltern, non-commissioned officer and private 
of their re:^pcctivc commands, the general gives his thanks and expresses his warmest 
approbation ; also to adjutant Brown, Mr. Peters, conductor of artillery ; Mr. Lion, 
principal artificer; Mr. Timberlee, and to sergeants Henderson, Tommes and Mei- 
drnm, who severally had charge of batteries and block-houses. The battery manage<l 
by ser^^eant Henderson was, as the enemy confessed, managed with peculiar efficacy 
and elfect with respect to the sorties which were made on the 5th inst. The subse- 
quent information which has been received from the prisoners, has given the gallant 
troops which v^'ere engaged on those occasions additional claims upon the gratitude of 
their general. It is ascertained that in both instances the enemy far out-numbered 
our troops. The general gives his thanks to brigadier-general Clay, for the prompti- 
tude with which the detachment of his brigade were landed, and the assiduity shown 
by him in forming them for the attack on the left. To colonel Boswell and major 
Fletcher, for their gallantry and good conduct in leading them in the charge made on 
the enemy, and to captains Dudley, Simmons and Medcalf, the subalterns, non-com- 
mis.~ioned officers and privates, for the distinguished valor with which they defeated 
the enemy. The general has in the order of the 6th inst. expressed his sense of the 
conduct of the regular troops and volunteers, which were engaged in the sorties on 
the left flank, but he omitted to mention captain Sebry's company of Kentucky militia, 
whose gallantry was not surpassed by that of any of the companies which fought by 
their side. The Pittsburgh Blues, led by lieutenant M'Gee, in the illness of their 
gallant captain sustained the reputation which they had acquired at Massassineway. 
The Petersburg volunteers and lieutenant Drum's detachment, discovered equal in- 
trepidity. To the detachments from the seventeenth and nineteenth United States' 
regiments under their respective commanders, captains Croghan, Bradford, Langham, 
Elliot, Nering, the honorable task was assigned of storming the British batteries, 
defended by two hundred British grenadiers and light infantry, flanked by a host of 
Indians and two companies of Canadian militia. Colonel Miller speaks in the highest 
terms of the captains before mentioned, and lieutenants Campbell, Gwyn, Lee, Ker- 
cheval and Rees, and of ensigns Shep, Hawkins, Harrison, Mitchell and Stockton. 
The general requests colonel Miller, major Todd, and each of the officers above named, 
together with all the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers who were en- 
gaged on the 5th instant to accept his thanks. The general is under the highest 
obligation to his staft" for their conduct, as well in the action of the 5th as for the 
assistance he received from them throughout the siege. Major Hukill, the acting in- 
spector-general, distinguished himself by his assiduity in forwarding the part of our 
works which was most necessary, and which was most exposed to the fire of the 
enemy. From major Graham, his aid-de-camp, his volunteer aid-de-camp J. Johnson, 
esq., and from lieutenant O'Fallon, acting assistant adjutant-general, as well as from 
the deputy quarter-master Mr. Eubank, he received the greatest assistance. It rarely 
occurs that a general has to complain of the excessive ardor of his men, yet such ap- 
pears always to be the case whenever the Kentucky militia are engaged. It is indeed 
the source of all their misfortunes. They appear to think that valor alone can accom- 
plish anything. The general is led to make this remark from the conduct of captain 
Dudley's company of the regiment, as he has understood, that that gallant 

officer was obliged to turn his espontoon against his own company to oblige them to 
desist from a further pursuit of the enemy, in compliance with an order from the 
general. Such temerity although not so disgraceful, is scajcely less fatal than cow 



88 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

ardicc. And in the instance above, had it been persisted in, would have given a dif- 
ferent result to the action, as the whole of the enemy's force which were placed near 
the batteries would have been precipitated upon the rear of our detachment. The 
pursuit being stopped, allowed time for a new disposition under cover of our cannon, 
and thft enemy's batteries were attacked and carried without any difficulty. 

(A Copy) John O'Fallok, 

Acting assistant adjutant-generaL 

(CIKCULAR.) 

Loiuer Sandusky, Camp Resolution, May 12, 1813. 
To all Volunteers of the State of Ohio, on their march to Fort Meigs. 

The British and their barbarian allies have abandoned the siege of Fort Meigs. 

It is fortunate for the savages that they retired before your arrival at the point of 
destination. — From the zeal, promptitude, and perseverance which has animated all 
those free and brave men, who have marched with, followed, and are following me, I 
entertain the belief, that we should have drove our red enemies from the state of Ohio 
— but they have fled. General Harrison, I am pleased to inform you, is in camp, ad- 
joining. Return to your homes ; — I thank you. The frontiers shall be safe. 

R. J. Meiks, governor of Ohio. 

GENERAL OBBERS. 

Head- Quarters, A'. W. Army, Franklinton, May 16, 1813. 

The commanding general has observed with the warmest gratitude, the astonishing 
exertions which have been made by his excellency governor Meigs, and the general 
and other militia officers of this state, in collecting and equipping a body of troops for 
the relief of Fort Meigs ; but the efforts of these gentlemen would have been unavail- 
ing if they had not been seconded by the patriotic ardor of every description of 
citizens; which has induced them to leave their homes at a most critical season of 
the year, regardless of every consideration, but that of rendering service to their coun- 
try. The general found the road from Lower Sandusky Uterally covered with men — 
and amongst them many of those who had shared in the toils and dangers of the re- 
volutionary war, and from whom, of course, there existed no legal claims for military 
service. The general has every reason to believe that similar efforts have been made 
in Kentucky. He offers to all these brave men from both states his sincere acknow- 
ledgments, and is happy to inform them, that there is at present no necessity for their 
longer continuance in the field. The enemy has fled with precipitation from Fort 
Meigs ; and that fort is in a much better situation to resist an attack, than when the 
late siege commenced. 

The quarter-master and commissaries are directed to furnish the troops of every 
description upon their return, with provisions and forage in the same manner as the 
troops which have been called regularly into service. 

By the general, 

Rd. Graham, aid-de-camp 

Copy of a despatch from major-general William H. Harrison, to the secretary at 
war, dated Head- Quarters, Lower Sandusky, May 13, 1813. 

Sir — Having ascertained that the enemy (Indians as well as British) had entirely 
abandoned the neighbourhood of the Rapids, I left the command of camp Meige with 
general Clay, and came here last night. It is with the greatest satisfaction I inform 
you, sir, that I have every reason to believe, that the loss of the Kentucky troops in 
killed on the north side of the river does not exceed fifty. On the 10th and 11th 
instant I caused the ground which was the scene of the action, and its environs, to be 
carefully examined, and after the most diligent search forty-five bodies only of our 
Hien were discovered — amongst them was the leader of the detachment, captain Dud- 
ley. Ny other officer of note fell in the action. I have strong reason to believe that 
a considerable number of the Kentuckians effected their retreat up the river to Fort 
Winchester. General Proctor did not furnish me with a return of the prisoners in 
his possession, although repeatedly promised. His retreat was as precipitate as it 
could properly be, leaving a number of cannon ball, a new elegant sling-carriage for 
cannon, and other valuable articles. The night before his departure two persons that 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 29 

were employed in the British gun-boats (Americans by birth) deserted to us. The 
information they gave me was very interesting— they say that the Indians, of which 
there were from sixteen hundred to two thousand, left the British the day before their 
departure in a high state of dissatisfaction, from the great loss which they had sus- 
tained in the several engagements of the 5th, and the failure of the British in accom- 
plishing their promise of taking the post at the Rapids. From the account given by 
these men, my opinion is confirmed of the great superiority of the enemy which were 
defeated by our troops in the two sallies made on the ."ith instant. That led by colonel 
Miller did not exceed three hundred and fifty men, and it is very certain that they de- 
feated two hundred British regulars, one hundred and fifty militia, and four or five 
hundred Indians. That American regulars (although they were raw recruits) and 
such men as compose the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Petersburg Virginia vo 
lunteers, should behave well, is not to be wondered at — but that a company of militia 
should maintain its ground against four times its numbers, as did captain Sebry's of 
the Kentucky, is truly astonishing. These brave fellows were at length, however, en- 
tirely surrounded by Indians, and would have been entirely cut off but for the'gal- 
lantry of lieutenant Gwynne of the nineteenth regiment, who, with part of captain 
Elliott's company, charged the enemy and released the Kentuckians. I inclose you 
a list of the killed and wounded during the whole siege. It is considerably larger 
than I had supposed it would be when I last wrote to you— but it is satisfactory to 
know that, they did not bleed uselessly— but in the course of successful exertions. 
The return does not embrace those who fell on the north-west side of the Miami. 

You will also receive herewith a monthly return of the troops at camp Meigs for 
the last month ; the communication with the other posts being cut off, the returns 
were not received. A copy of general Clay's report to me of the manner of his execut- 
ing niy order for the attack on the enemy's batteries, is likewise forwarded, by which 
It will be seen that my intentions were perfectly understood, and the great facility with 
which they might have been executed is apparent to every individual who witnessed 
the scene. Indeed the cannon might have been spiked, the carriages cut to pieces, 
the magazine destroyed, and the retreat effected to the boats without the loss of a man,' 
as none were killed in taking the batteries, so complete was the surprise. 

An extensive open plain intervenes between the river and the hill upon which the 
batteries of the enemy were placed; this plain was raked by four of our eighteen 
pounders, a twelve and a six. The enemy, even before their guns were s'piked, 
could not have brought one to bear on it. So perfectly secured was their retreat that 
one hundred and fifty men who came off effected it without loss, and brought off some 
of the wounded, one of them upon the backs of his comrades. The Indians followed 
them to the woods, but dared not enter into the plain. 

I atn unable to form a correct estimate of the enemy's force. The prisoners varied 
much in their accounts ; those who made them least, stated the regulars at five hun- 
dred and fifty, and militia at eight hundred ; but the numbers of Indians were beyond 
comparison greater than have ever been brought into the field before ; numbers arrived 
after the seige commenced. I have caused their camps on the south-east side of the 
river to be particularly examined, and the general opinion is, that there could not have 
been fewer on that side than one thousand or twelve hundred ; they were indeed the 
efficient furce of the enemy. 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favors of the 14th, 18th, and 
28th ult. and 4th instant. 

I am sorry to inform you that major Stoddard died the night before I left the Rapids, 
of a lock-jaw, produced by a slight wound from a fragment of a shell which struck 
him on the thigh. Several have died in this way from their great and unavoidable 
exposure to the cold ; but perhaps there never were so many instances of desperate 
Wounds being likely to do well. 

The gallant captain Bradford will recover. 

I shall go from here to Upper Sandusky, and shall take my station at Delaware or 
^randinton, until the troo[)s are assembled. General Clay who commands at tho 
Kapids, is a man of ca[)acity and entirely to be relied on. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your humble servant. 

.TO , Wm. HKNRr Hahhisos. 

Ine fion, Julin Armstrong, Secretary at War." 

^ c2 



30 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOIC. 

In some editorial comments upon tlie glorious events detailed above, the editor of 
the Kcgisiter said : 

" We now begin to see the fruition of our bopos in the gallant exertions of the 
western j)Coplc and tlieir bfloved chieftain Hairisoti, whose otficia! despatch, inserted 
below, will warm the heart of every American. Tlie bonds of the unholy alliance 
between the British and the savages received a sensible blow in the capture and de- 
eiruction of the stores at York ; and Harrisoii, at the scalp-collecting Maiden, will 
sever the Ijarbarous tie between the ' (/rjhicfers nf t lit faith.' and the murderers of fhe 
ivoitnded. The frontier will soon be relieved of the lurKing^ savage and more wicked 
Knglisii, and Harrison's brave force be able to operate witli that elfect we have hoped, 
and at all times, believed it would. JJut the deeds recorded are the best commentary 
«n tlie valor of the west." 



CHAPTER V. 

THE PETTICOAT SLANDER NOIil.R REPLY TO fJF.JTEHAL moCTOn's INSOLENT DE- 
MAND TO suruendeh fout meigs — battle of lower sanduskt — capture 

OF MALDKN. 

We have now arrived at fhe circumstances which gave rise to the " Petticoat 
st or 1/ ;" one of the most base and unprincipled slanders ever circulated against a brave 
and honored patriot, and which would have secured to the author all the honors of 
the " second section," if he had originated it during " The second War of Independence." 

The •true version of the story is as follows: 

The following paragrajh, says Niles, vol. iv. p. 238, is from the Chilicolhe Fredo- 
nian of June, 1813. " M he fact is positively stated, and, iti what has really happen- 
ed, we have strong collateral proofs of its verity. But it is of a nature so important 
that the testimony in support of it ought to be known to the world, that such a horrid 
contract may not rest on a newspaper paragraph. We hope the respectable editor of 
the ' Fredonian' will fivor us in this respect. ' It is a fact no less dishonoral>le to the 
British nation, than true, that general Proctor, in order to induce general Tecumseh 
to join him with his forces in the late attack on Fort Meigs, agreed that general Hau- 
Riso>" should be delivered up to the Indians, to be disposed of as they should think 
pn/]}er .'" 

On the 21st of June, in the same year, general Harrison held a council with the 
chiefs of the Delaware, 8hawanoe, Wyandot, and Seneca tribes of Indians, to the 
number of about fifty. '' In the general's tul/c," said the Franklin Chronicle of that 
date, (IVile.s, vol. iv. p. 313.) "he observed, that he had been induced to call them 
togetlier from ctitain circumstances having come to his knowledge, which led him 
to suspect the fidelity of some of the tribes, who had m.anifested a disposition to join 
the enemy, in case they succeeded in capturing Fort Meigs. That a crisis had 
arrived whi( h demanded that all the tribes who had heretofore remained neutral, should 
tako A decided stand either for or against us; that the president wished no false friends, 
and that ii was only in adversity that real friends can be distinguished ; that the pro- 
[losal of general Proctor to exchange the Kentucky prisoners for the friendly tribes 
within our borders, indicated that he had given them to understand that those tribes 
were willing to raise the tomahawk against us; and that in order to give the United 
States a guarantee of their good dispositions, the friendly tribes should either move, 
with their t'amilies into the settlements, or their warriors should accompany him in the 
ensuing cam[)aign, and fight for the United States. To this proposal the chief and 
warriors unanimously agreed; and observed that they had long been anxious for an 
opfiortunity to fight for the Americans. 

\Vc cannot recollect the precise remarks that were made by the chiefs who spoke, 
out Tarhe, (the Onne,) who is the principal of the Wyandots, and the oldest Indian 
in the Western Wilds, appeared to rejiresent the whole assemlily, and professed in th* 
name of the friendly tribes, the most indissoluble attachment lor tlie American go- 
vernment, and a determination to adhere to the treaty of Greenville. 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 31 

The general has promiseil to let the several trihos know when he should want thoir 
services; and further cautioned thcni, that all who went with him must conform to /i/.? 
mode of warfare; not to kill or injure old men, women, children, nor prisoners. 
That, by this means, we should he able to ascertain whether the Dritish tell the truth 
when thev say, that they are not able to prevent Indians from such horrid cruelty; 
for if the Indians under him (general Harrison) would obey his commands and re- 
frain from acts of barbarism, it would be very evident that the hostile Indians could be 
easily restrained by their conmianders. The general then informed the chiefs of the 
agreement made by Proctor, to deliver him to 'I'ecmnseh in case the British succeed- 
ed in taking Fort Meigs ; and promised them tliat if //e should be successful, he would 
deliver Proctor into their hands ; (in condition that they should do liim no other harm 
than to put a petticoat on /dm — ' for,' said he, 'none but a coward or a mjuuiv would 
kill a prisoner.' 

The council broke up in the afternoon ; and the Indians departed the next day for 
their respective towns." 

We append the following noble and modest reply to Proctor's insolent demand to 
surrender Fort Meigs. It is recorded in Niles, vol. iv, p. 260. 

"We are authorized to state, (says a Cincinnati paper,) by an officer of general 
Harrison's stall^ that the paragraph which appeared in the late Chilicothe Fredonian, 
relatively to the answer which was given by the general to the demand of his surrender 
to general Proctor, is not correct. The answer there attributed to the general, was 
made by a soldier of our army, who being upon the bank of the river with .some 
others, a British soldier called to them and observed, that they 'had better hang out 
the white flag and surrender.' The American answered, 'general Hull has not yet 
arrived ; until he comes you may save yourselves the trouble of asking for a surren- 
der.' The conversation which took jilace between general Harrison and major Cham- 
bers, of the British army, who was sent by general Proctor to demand the surrender, 
was as nearly as can be recollected, as follows : 

Major C/iainbers— General Proctor has directed me to demand the surrender of this 
post. He wishes to spare the ell'usion of blood. 

General Harrison — The demand, under present circumstances, is a most extraordi- 
nary one. As general Proctor did not send me a summons to surrender on his first 
arrival, I had supposed that he believed me determined to do my duty. His present 
message indicates an opinion of me that I am at a loss to account for. 

Major C/iambers — General Proctor could never thinkof saying any thing to wound 
your feelings, sir. The character of general Harrison, as an officer, is well known. 
General Proctor's force is very respectable, and there is with him a larger body of 
Indians than have ever before been embodied. 

General Harrison — I believe I have a very correct idea of general Proctor's force, 
it is not such as to create the least apprehension for the result of the contest, whatever 
shape he may be pleased hereafter to give to it. Assure the general, however, that he 
will never have this post surrendered to him upon any terms. Should it fall info his 
liandx, it luUI he in. a manner calculated to do him more honor, and to give him larger 

elaimn upon the gratitude of his government, than any capitulation could possiuly 

/>> 
0. 

The following is the official account of the circumstances connected with the in- 
reslment of Lower Sandusky, which general Harrison's enemies have endeavored to 
oervert to his disadvantage ; but from the letter of the gallant colonel Croghan, and the 
♦ertificates of general Cass, (formerly secretary of war and now minister to France,) 
U will be seen that his conduct on that occasion was dictated by military wisdom and 
d due regard to the circumstances and situation of the enemy. 

Copy of a letter from general Harrison to the Secretary of War, inserted in Niles, 
vol. iv. p. ^88. 

" Head- Quarters, Seneca Town, Aug. 4, 1813. 

Sin — In my letter of the 1st inst. I did myself the honor to inform you that one of 
my scouting parties had just returned from the lake shore, and had discovered, the day 
before, the enemy in force near the mouth of the Sandusky bay. The party had not 



32 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

passed Lower Sandusky two hours before the aJ\;\nce, consistinij of Intlians, appeared 
before the fort, and in half an hour alter a large detucliment of British truops ; and in 
the course of the night they commenced a cannonading against the fort with three six- 
pounders and two howitzers; the latter from giin-bnats. 'J''he firing was parUally an- 
Bwcred liy major Croghan, having a six-pounder, the only piece of artillery. 

The fire of the enemy was continued at intervals, during the 2d intit., until about 
half after 5 P. M. when finding that their cannon made little impression uporj 
the works, and having discovered my position here, and apprehending an attack, an 
attempt was made to carry the place by storm. Their troops were firni' d in two 
columns, lieutenant-colonel Short headed the principal one, composed of the light and 
battalion companies of the 41st regiment. This gallant officer conducted his men to 
the brink of the ditch, under the most galling and destructive fire from the garrison, 
and leaping into it was followed by a considerable part of his own and the light com- 
pany ; at this moment a masked porthole was suddenly opened, and a six-pounder, 
witli an half load of powder and a double charge of leaden slugs, at the distance of 
thirty feet, poured destruction upon them, and killed or wounded nearly every man 
who had entered the ditch. In vain ilid the British officers exert themselves to lead 
on the balance of the column ; it retired in disorder under a shower of shot from tho 
fort, and sought safety in the adjoining woods. The other column, headed by the gre- 
nadiers had also retired, after having suffered from the muskets of our men, to an 
adjacent ravine. In the course of the night, the enemy, with the aid of their Indians, 
drew off the greater part of the wounded and dead, and embarking them in boats 
descended the river with the utmost precipitation. In the course of the '-id inst. 
having heard the cannonading, I made several attempts to ascertain the force and 
situation of the enemy ; our scouts were unable to get near the fort, from the Indians 
which surrounded it. Finding, however, that the enemy had only light artillery, and 
being well convinced tliat it could make little impression upon the works, and that any at- 
tempt to storm it would be resisted with eHect, I waited for the arrival of two hundred 
and fifty mounted vcilunteers, which on the evening before had left Upper Sandusky. 
But as soon as I was informed the enemy were retreating, I set out with the dragoons 
to endeavor to overtake them, leaving generals M'Arthur and Cass to follow with all 
the infantry (about seven hundred) that could be spared from the protection of the 
stores and sick of this place. I found it impossible to come up with them. Upon my 
arrival at Sandusky, I was informed by the prisoners that the enemy's forces con>isted 
of four hundred and ninety regular troops, and five hundred of Dixon's Indians, com- 
manded by general Proctor in person, and that Tecumseh. with about two thousand 
warriors, was somewhere in the swamps, between this and Fort Meigs, expecting my 
advancing, or that of a convoy of provisions. As there was no pro>pcct of doing any 
thing in front, and being apprehensive that Tecumseh might destroy the stores and 
smad detachments in my rear, I sent orders to general Cass, who commanded the 
reserve, to fall back to this place, and to general M'Arthur with the front line to 
follow and support him. I remained at Sandusky until the parties that were sent out 
in every direction returned — not an enemy was to be seen. 

I am sorry that I cannot transmit you major Croghan's official report. He was 
to have sent it to me this morning, but I have just heard that he was so much ex- 
hausted by thirty-six hours of continued exertion as to be unable to make it. It will 
not be amongst the least of general Proctor's mortifications to find that he has been 
baffled by a youth who has just passed his twenty-first year. He is, however, a hero 
worthy of his gallant uncle, general George R. Clark. 

Caiptain Hunter, of the !7th regiment, the second in command, conducted liimself 
with great propriety ; and never were a set of finer young fellows than the sulialterns, 
viz. lieutenants Johnson and Bayler of the 17th, Anthony of the 2'Uh, Meeks of the 
7th, and ensigns Sliipp and Dur.can of the 17th. 

The following account of the unworthy artifice and conduct of the enemy will 
excite your indignation. Major Chambers was sent by general Proctor, !iccom|ianied 
by colonel Elliott, to demand the surrender of the fort. — They were met by ensign 
Shipp. 'i"he majiir ob-served. that general Proctor had a number of cannon, a largi/ 
body of r^gubir troops, and so many Indians whom it was impossible to control ; and 
if llie fort was taken, as it must be, the whole of the garrison would be massacred. 

Mr. Shipp answered, that it was the determination of major Croghan, his ofliccrs 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 33 

and men, to defend the garrison, or be buried in it : and that they miirht do their 
best. Colonel Elliott then addressed Mr. Ship]), and said, 'You are a fine youn^ man ; 
I pity your situation; for God's sake surreiulur, and prevent the dreadful slaughter 
that must follow resistance. Shipp turned from him with indignation, and was imme- 
diately taken hold of by an Indian, who attempted to wrest his sword from him. 
Elliott pretended to exert himself to release him, and expressed great anxiety to get 
him safe in the fort. 

I have the honor to enclose you a copy of the first note received from major Crog- 
han. It was written before day : and it has since been ascertained, that of the enemy 
there remained in the ditch, one lieutenant-colonel, one lieutenant and twenty-five 
privates: the number of prisoners, one sergeant and twenty-five privates; fourteen of 
them badly wounded : every care has been taken of the latter, and the officers buried 
with the honors due to their rank and their bravery. All the dead that were not in 
the ditch, were taken off in the night by the Indians. It is impossible, from the cir- 
cumstances of the attack, that they should have lost less than one hundred. Some of 
the prisoners think that it amounted to two hundred. A young gentleman, a private 
in the Petersburg volunteers, of the name of Brown, assisted by five or six of that 
company and of the Pittsburgh Blues, who were accidentally in the fort, managed the 
six-pounder which produced such destruction in the ranks of the enemy. I have the 
honor to be, &c. W.m. Henui HAnnisox. 

N. B. Of our few wounded men, there is but one that will not be well in less than 
six days." 

Extract of a letter from colonel Croghan, to his friend at Seneca Town, published 
in supplement to Niles, vol. viii. p. 183. 

" Lower Sanduski/, August 27, 181 3. 

" I have with much regret seen in some of the public prints, such misrepresenta- 
tions respecting my refusal to evacuate this post, as are calculated not only to injure 
me in the estimation of military men, but also to excite unfavorable impressions as to 
the propriety of general Harrison's conduct relative to this affair. 

His character as a military man, is too well established to need my approbation or 
support. But his public services entitle him at least to common justice — this affair 
does not furnish causes of reproach. If public opinion has been hastily misled 
respecting his late conduct, it will require but a moment's cool, dispassionate reflection, 
to convince them of its propriety. The measures recently adopted by him, so far 
from deserving censure, are the clearest proofs of his keen penetration, and able 
generalship. It is true, that I did not proceed immediately to execute his order to 
evacuate this post ; but this disobedience was not (as some would wish to believe) 
the result of a fixed determination to maintain the post contrary to his most positive 
orders, as will appear from the following detail, which is given to explain my con- 
duct. 

About ten o'clock on the morning of the 30th ult. a letter from the adjutant-gene- 
ral's office, (dated Seneca Town, July 29th 1813,) was handed me by Mr. Conner, 
ordering me to abandon this post, burn it, and retreat that night to head-quarters. 
On the reception of the order, I called a council of officers, in which it was deter- 
mined not to abandon the place, (at least until the further pleasure of the general 
should be known,) as it was thought an attempt to retreat in open day, in the face of 
a superior force of the enemy, would be more hazardous than to remain in the fort, 
under all its disadvantages. I therefore wrote a letier to the general couched in such 
terms as I thought were calcidated to deceive tlie enemy, should it fall into his hands, 
which I thought more than probable — as well as to inform the general, should it be so 
fortunate as to reach him, that I would wait to hear from him, before I should proceed 
to execute his order. This letter, contrary to my expectations, was received by the 
general, who (not knowing what reasons urged me to write in a tone so decisive) 
concluded very rationally, that the manner of it was demonstrative of a most positive 
determination to disobey his orders under any circumstances. I was therefore sus- 
pende,: from the command of the fort, and ordered to head-quarters; but on explain- 
ing to the general my reasons for not executing his order, and my object in using the 
etyle I had done, he was so perfectly satisfied with tlie explanation, that I was iiame- 
diately reinstated in the commaud. 
5 



^4 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOCK. 

It will be rccoUcctpJ, that the order ahove alluded to, was written on the night pre- 
vious to my receivinj; it ; had it been delivered to me (as was ititei-ded) that night, 
I should have oln-vcd it without hesitation ; its not reaching me in time, was the only 
reason which induced me to consult my officers on the propriety of waiting the gene- 
ral's further order. 

It has been stated also, that ' upon my representations of my ability to maintain 
this post, the general altered his determination to abandon it.' This is incorrect. 
No such representation was ever made. And the last order I received from the gene- 
ral, was precisely the same as that fnst given, viz. : ' Tliat if I discovered the ap- 
proach of a large British force by water, (presuming they would bring heavy arliilei*^) 
time enough to effect a retreat, I was to do so ; hut if I could not retreat with safety, 
to defend the post to the last extremity.' 

A day or two before the enemy appeared before Fort Meigs, the general had recon- 
noitred the surrounding ground ; and being informed that the hill on the opposite 
side of Sandusky completely commanded the fort, I olfered to undertake, with the 
troops under my command, to remove it to that side. The general, upon reflection, 
thought it best not to attempt it. as he believed tliat if the enemy again appeared on 
this side the lake, it would be before the work could he finished. 

It is useless to disguise the fact, that this fort is commanded by the points of high 
ground around it ; a single stroke of the eye made this clear to me the first time I 
had occasion to examine the neighborhood, with the view of discovering the relative 
strength and weakness of the place. 

It would be insincere to say that I am not flattered by the many handsome things 
which have been said about the defence which was made by the troops under my 
command : but I desire no plaudits which are bestowed upon me at the expense of 
general Harrison. 

I have at all times enjoyed his confidence so for as my rank in the army entitled 
me to it, and on proper occasions received his marked attention. I have felt the 
warmest attachment for him as a man, and my confidence in him as an able com- 
mander remains unshaken. I feel every assurance, that he will at all times do me 
ample justice ; and nothing could give me more pain than to see his enemies seize 
upon this occasion to deal out their unfriendly feelings and acrimonious dislike — and 
so long as he continues (as in my humble opinion he has done) to make the wisest 
arrangements and most judicious disposition which the forces under his command 
will justify, I shall not hesitate to unite with the army in bestowing upon him ihat 
confidence which he so richly merits, and which has on no occasion been withheld. 
Your friend, Geouge Ckochax, 

Major seventeenth infantry, commanding Lower Sandusky." 

" Lower Sf.neca Town, August 26, 1813. 
The undersigned, being the general field and staff officers, with that ])ortion of the 
north-western army under the immediate command of general Harrison, have ob- 
served with regret and surprise that charges, as improper in the form as in the sub- 
stance, have been made against the conduct of general Harrison during the recent 
investment of Lower Sandusky. At another time, and under ordinary circumstances, 
we should deem it improper and unmilitary thus publicly to give any opinion respect- 
ing the movements of the army. But public confidence in the commanding general 
is essential to the success of the campaign, and causelessly to withdraw or to with- 
hold that confidence is more than individual injustice; it becomes a serious injury to 
the service. A part of the force, of which this portion of the American army con- 
sists, will derive its greatest strength and efficacy from a confidence in the command- 
ing general, and from those moral causes which accompany and give energy to pulv 
lie opinion. A very erroneous idea respecting the number of the troops then at the 
disposal of the general, has doubtless been the primary cause of those unfortunate 
and unfourid<'d impressions. A sense of duty forbids us from giving a detailed view 
of our strength at that time. In that respect, we have fortunately experienced a very 
favorahic change. But we refer the public to the general's ollicial report to th- secre- 
tarj- of war of major Croghan's successful defence of Lower Sandusky. In that will 
be found a statement of our whole disposable force, and he who believes that vviih 
»uc;j a force, under the circunistuncus which tlien occurred, general Harrison ouglu 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 35 

to have advanced upon the enemy, must be left to correct his opinion in the school 
of experience. On a review of the course then adopted, we are decidedly of the 
opinion, that it was such as was dictated l>y niihtary wisdom and by a due r^c^ard to 
our owTi circumstances and to the situation of the enemy. The reasons for this 
opinion it is evidently improper now to give, but we hold ourselves ready, at a future 
peiiod, and when other circumstances shall have intervened, to satisfy every man of 
its correctness who is anxious to investigate and willing to receive the truth. And 
with a ready ac(iuiescence, beyond the mere claims of military duty, we are prepared 
to obey a general, whose measures meet our most deliberate ajiprobation, and merit 
that of his country. 

Lewis Cass, Brig. Gen. TJ. S. A. 

Samuel Wells, Col. 17 R. U. S. I. 

Th. D. OwixGs, Col. 38 R. U. S. I. 

Geo. Paul, Col. 27 R. U, S. I. 

J. C. Baiitlktt, Col. and Q. M. G. 

Jas. V. Ball, I>ieut. Col. 

RoHEitT Morrison, Lieut. Col. 

Geo. Ton, Maj. 19 R. U.S. I. 
, Wm. Tnir;r., Maj. 28 R. U. S. L 

James Smiley, Maj. 28 R. U. S. L 

Rd. Guaham, Maj. 17 R. U. S. L 

Geo. Crochax, Maj. 17 R. U. S. I. 

L. HuKiLL, Maj. and Ass. In. Gen. 

L. D. Wood, Maj. Engineers." 

The following reply to a letter from general Proctor, relative to the sick and 
wounded prisoners at the battle of Lower Sandusky, is eminently characteristic of 
his humanity. See Niles, vol. iv. p. 419. 

" Head-quarters, Eighth Military District of the United States, August 10, 1813. 

Sir — Your letter addressed to the officer commanding at Lower Sandusky, was 
forwarded from thence to me, and received this moment. Upon my arrival at Fort 
Sandusky on the morning of the 3d instant, I found that major Croghan, conform.ably 
to those principles which are held sacred in the American army, had caused all the 
care to be taken of the wounded prisoners that his situation would permit. Having 
with me my hospital surgeon, he was particularly charged to attend to them, and I am 
warranted in the belief that every aid that surgical skill could give was atforded. 
They have been literally furnished too with every article necessary in their situation 
which our hospital stores could supply. 

Having referred to my government for orders respecting the disposition of the 
prisoners, I cannot with propriety comply with your request for an immediate 
exchange. 

But I assure you, sir, that as far as it depends upon me, the course of treatment 
which has been commenced towards them, whilst in my possession, will be con- 
tinued. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your humble servant, 

Wm. H. Harrison, 
Major-general commanding Eighth United States Military District." 

The next achievement in the career of general Harrison was the capture of Mai- 
den, September 23, 1813. General Harrison's own letters give the best account of 
the capture. The following are recorded in Niles, vol. v. p. 117. 

"Extract of a letter from major-general Harrison to the secretary of war, dated head- 
quarters, Bass Island, 32d Sept. 1813. 

The greater part of the troops are here with me, and the whole will, I believe, be 
up by 12 o'clock. I shall proceed as far as the Middle Sister, in the course of to-night 
and to-morrow, and in the following night get so near the enemy's coast as to land 
two or three miles below Maiden by eight o'clock in the morning. These pRispects 
may, however, be retarded by adverse winds. Commodore Perr^ gives me ovory 
esistance in nis power. 



36 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

Copy of a letter from major-general Harrison to the war department. 

Head-quartern, Am her sf burg, Sept. 23, 1813. 

Sin — I have the honor to inform you that I landed the army under my command 
ahout three miles below this place at three o'clock this evening, without opposition, 
and took possession of the town in an hour after. General Proctor has retreated to 
Sandwich with his regular troops and Indians, having previously burned the fort, 
navy-yard, barracks, and public store-houses; the two latter were very extensive, 
covering several acres of ground. I will pursue the enemy to-morrow, although there 
is no probability of my overtaking him, as he has upwards of one thousand horses, 
and we have not one in the army. I shall think myself fortunate to be able to collect 
a suiilciency to mount the general officers. It is supposed here that general Proctor 
intends to establish himself upon the river French, forty miles from Maiden. I have 
the honor to be, &c. Wm. H. Hakrisoit. 

Copy of a letter from commodore Perry to the secretary of the navy. 

U. S. schooner Ariel, Maiden Harbor, 23d Sept. 1813, 5 P.M. 

Sin — I have the honor to acquaint you that the army under major-general Harrison 
have this moment marched into Maiden without opposition, and that the squadron are 
now at anchor off the town. I have the honor to be, &c. O. H. Pekkt. 

Extract of a letter from colonel Smith, of the rifle regiment, to colonel A. Y. Ni- 
choil, inspector-general, dated 

Lower Sandusky, Odoher 2d, 1813. 

I have already collected 520 of my regiment. — The last accounts from the general 
state that he was in pursuit of Proctor, who had evacuated Maiden a few hours before 
he landed. I fear he will make his escape. I leave here immediately for Portage, and 
probably head-quarters, to procure transport for my detachment. 

Copy of a letter from major-general Harrison to governor Meigs, dated 

Head-//uarkrs,Amherslburg, 27lh of September, 1813, 10 o'clock, P.M. 

Dear Sir — The enemy have given up this important place without opposition ; 
having destroyed the fort and all the public buildings, which were immensely exten- 
sive and valuable, particularly the navy-yard. 

Proctor was yesterday at Sandwich, with his regulars and Indians. It is supposed 
he is Lending his course to the river French, there to fortify and make a stand. I 
shall follow him as soon as I collect a few horses to mount the general officers and 
some of the staff. 

A miserable French pony, upon which the venerable and patriotic governor of Ken- 
tucky was mounted, is the only one in the army. 

We landed three miles below the town. I wish your troops to remain at one of the 
Sanduskys for orders. Your friend, Wm. H. HAnnisoN." 

A short time after the surrender of Maiden, general Harrison took possession of 
Detroit, which event was succeeded by the glorious Battle of the Thames, which 
took place on the 5th of October, 1813. The details uf this ever memorable battle, 
and the previous movements of the army, are«contained in the following letters to 
jhe secretary of war, inserted in Niles, vol. v. pp. 129 — 130. 

" Extract of a letter from general Harrison to the department of war. 

Head-quarters, Sandwich, U. C. 30M Sept. 1813. 

Sin — General Proctor has with him four hundred and seventy-five regulars of the 
forty-first and Newfoundland regiments; sixty of the tenth regiment of veterans; 
forty-five dragoons ; and from six hundred to one thousand Indians. Some deserters 
who left him the night before last, give the latter as the number. The citizens of 
Detroit suppose the former to be correct. 

The Qttawas and Chipjiewas have withdrawn from the British, and have sent in 
three of their warriors to beg for peace, ])romising to agree to any terms that I shall 
prescribe. I have agreed to receive them upon condition of their giving hostages for 
their fidelity, and immediately joining us with all their warriors. The Wyandots, 
Miamies, and thi^ band of Delawares, which had joined the enemy, are also desirous 
to be received upon the same terms. 

The celebrated chief Main Pock is at the head of the hostile band on the Detroit 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 37 

side of the strait. Tecumseh heads that which remains with the British. The inha- 
bitants of Detroit, who were in daily conimutiication witli them, make the former from 
one thousand to twelve hundred. Their oltject in dividing their force was to make a 
night attack upon the part of the army wliich crossed over to Detroit, or that which 
remained on this side, by a junction of iheir force some miles above. 

A detachment of the army, and some of the vessels of war, will set out for tha 
reduction of Mackinac and St. Josephs, in a few days. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your obedient servant, 

Hon. John Armstrong, secretary of war. Wm. H. HAanisoir. 

Extract of a letter from general M'Arthur to the secretary of war. 

Detroit, Oct. Glh, 1813. 

Yon have no doubt been advised by the commanding general, that Maiden and this 
place were abandoned by the enemy previous to the arrival of our army, and that all 
the public buildings, &c., were destroyed. On our arrival at Sandwich, my brigade 
was ordered across the river to disperse some Indians, who were pillaging the town, 
and to take possession of this place. Information was received that several thousand 
Indians had retired a small distance into the woods, with instructions to attack general 
Harrison's army on its passage, for the purpose of retarding its progress; consequently 
my brigade was left to garrison this place. 

Since general Harrison's departure, five nations of Indians, viz. the Ottaways, Chip- 
peways, Pattawatamies, Miamies, and Kickapoos, who were but a few miles back, 
have come in for peace, and I have agreed that hostilities should cease for the present, 
on the following conditions : ' They have agreed to take hold of the same tomahawk 
with us, and to strike all who are or may be enemies to the United States, whether 
British or Indians.' They are to bring in a number of their women and children, 
and leave them as hostages whilst they accompany us to war. Some of them have 
already brought in their women, and are drawing rations. 

I have just received a note from general Harrison, advising that he had last evening 
overtaken general Proctor's force, and had gained a complete victory ; that all th« 
principal officers, general Proctor excepted, were in his possession, which no doubt 
ends the war in this quarter. I have the honor, «Scc, Duncan M'Arthur, 

Brig. Gen. U. S. Army. 

Copy of a letter from general Harrison to the department of war. 

Head-quarters, near Moravian Town, on the River Thamcfi, 

80 miles from Detroit, 5th October, 1813, 
Sir — I have the honor to inform you, that, by the blessing of Providence, the army 
under my command has this evening obtained a complete victory over the combined 
Indian and British forces under the command of general Proctor. I believe that nearly 
the whole of the enemy's regulars are taken or killed. Amongst the former are all the 
superior officers excepting general Proctor. My mounted men are now in pursuit of 
him. Our loss is very trifling. The brave colonel R. M. Johnson is the only officer 
whom I have heard of that is wounded ; he badly, but I hope not dangerously. 
I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your obedient, humble servant, 

Wai.H. Harrison. 
The hon. John Armstrong, Secretary at War. 

Copy of a letter from major-general Harrison to the secretary of war. 

Head-quarters, Detroit, 9th Oct. 1813. 

Sir — In my letter from Sandwich of the 30th ultimo, I did myself the honor to 
inform you that I was preparing to pursue the enemy the following day. From various 
causes, however, I was unable to put the troops in motion until the morning of the 2d 
inst., and then to take with me only about one hundred and forty of the regular troops, 
Johnson's mounted regiment, and such of governor Shelby's volunteers as were fit for 
a rapid march, the whole amounting to about three thousand five hundred men. To 
general M'.\rthur (with about seven hundred effectives) the protecting of this place 
and the sick was committed. General Cass's brigade and the corps of lieutenant- 
colonel Ball were left at Sandwich, with orders to follow me as soon as the mer: 
received their knapsacks and blankets, which had been left on an island in lake Erie. 

The unavoidable delay at Sandwich was attended wita no disadvantage to us, 

D 



38 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

General Proctor haJ posted himself at Dalson's, on the ri^ht bank of the Thames, (or 
Trenrh,) fifty-six miles from this place, where I was informed he intended to fortify 
:uid wait to receive n)e. He must have believed, however, that I had no disposition 
to follow him, or that he had secured my continuance here, by the reports that were 
circulated that the Indians would attack and destroy this place upon the advance of 
the army ; as he neglected to commence the breaking up the bridges until the night 
of the 2d inst. On that night our army reached the river, which is twenty-tive miles 
from Sandwich, and is one of four streams crossing our route, over all of which are 
bridges, and, being deep and muddy, are unfordable for a considerable distance into 
the country ; the bridge here was found entire, and in the morning I proceeded with 
Johnson's regiment to save, if possible, the others. At the second bridge, over a branch 
of the river Thames, we were fortunate enough to capture a lieutenant of dragoons 
and eleven privates, who had been sent by general Proctor to destroy them. From 
the prisoners I learned that the third bridge was broken up, and that the enemy had 
no certain information of our advance. The bridge having been imperfectly destroyed, 
was soon repaired, and the army encamped at Drake's farm, four miles below Dalson's. 

The river Thames, along the banks of which our route lay, is a fine deep stream, 
navigable for vessels of considerable burden, after the passage of the bar at its mouth, 
over which there is six and a half feet water. 

The baggage of the army was brought from Detroit in boats protected by three 
gun-boats, which coin. Perry had furnished for the purpose, as well as to cover the 
passage of the army over the Thames itself, or the mouths of its tributary streams ; 
the banks being low and the country generally open (prairies) as high as Dalson's, 
these vessels were well calculated for that purpose. Above Dalson's, however, the 
character of the river and adjacent country is considerably changed. The former, 
though still deep, is very narrow, and its banks high and woody. The commodore 
and myself therefore agreed upon the propriety of leaving the boats under a guard of 
one hundred and fifty infantry, and I determined to trust to fortune and the bravery 
' of my troops to effect the passage of the river. Below a place called Chatham, and 
four miles above Dalton's, is the third unfordable branch of the Thames ; the bridge 
over its mouth had been taken up by the Indians, as well as that at M'Gregor's Mills, 
one mile above. Several hundred of the Indians remained to dispute our passage, and 
upon the arrival of the advanced guard, commenced a heavy fire from the op})osite 
bank of the creek as well as that of the river. Believing that the whole force of the 
enemy was there, I halted the army, formed in order of battle, and brought up our 
two six-pounders to cover the party that were ordered to repair the bridge — a few shot 
from those pieces soon drove ofl" the Indians, and enabled us, in two hours, to repair 
the bridge and cross the troops. Colonel Johnson's mounted regiment being upon 
the right of the army, had seized the remains of the bridge at the mills under a heavy 
fire from the Indians. Our loss upon this occasion, was two killed and three or four 
wounded, that of the enemy was ascertained to be considerably greater. A house 
near the bridge, containing a considerable number of muskets, had been set on fire — 
but it was extinguished by our troops and the arms saved. At the first failn above 
the bridge, we found one of the enemy's vessels on fire, loaded with arms and ordnance 
stores, and learned that they were a few miles ahead of us, still on the right bank of 
the river with the great body of the Indians. At Bowles' farm, four miles from the 
bridge, we halted for the night, found two other vessels and a large distillery filled with 
ordnance and other valuable stores to an immense amount in fiames — it was impos- 
sible to put out the fire — two twenty-four pounders with their carriages were taken, 
and a large quantity of balls and shells of various sizes. The army was put in mo- 
tion early in the morning of tne 5th. I pushed on in advance with the mounted regi- 
irient, and requested governor Shelby to follow as expeditiously as possible with the 
infantry : the governor's zeal and that of his men enabled him to keep up with the 
cavalry, and by nine o'clock we were at Arnold's Mills, having taken in the course of 
the morning two gun-boats and several batteaux loaded with provisions and ammu- 
nition. 

A rapid at the river at Arnold's Mills alTords the only fording to be met with for a 
considerable distance, but, upon examination, it was found too deep for the infantry. 
Having, however, fortunately taken two or three boats and some Indian canoes ow 
the spot, and obliging the horsemen to take a footman behind each, the whole were 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 39 

safely crossed by twelve o'cIocL Eight miles from the crossing, we passed a farm 
where a part of the British troops had encamped the niorht lipfore, under the command 
of col. Warburton. The detachment with general Proctor h.id arrived the day before 
at the Moravian towns, four miles higher up. Bein^ now certainly near the enemy, 
I directed the advance of Johnson's regiment to accelerate their march for the purpose 
of procuring intelligence. The officer commanding it, in a short time sent to inform 
me, that his progress was stopped by the enemy, who were formi'd across our line of 
march. One of the enemy's wagoners being also taken prisoner, from the information 
received from him, and my own observation, assisted by gome of my officerB, I soon 
ascertained enough of their position in order of battle, to determine that which it was 
proper for me to adopt. 

I have the honor herewith to enclose you my general order of the 27th ull., pre- 
scribing the order of march and of battle when the whole army sho-jld act together. 
But as the number and description of the troops had been essentially changed, since 
the issuing of the order, it became necessary to make a correspond'ing alteration in 
their disposition. From the place where our army was last halted, to the Moravian 
towns, a distance of about three and a half miles, the road passes through a beach 
forest without any clearing, and for the first two miles near to the bank of the river. 
At from two to three hundred yards from the river a swamp extends parallel to it, 
throughout the whole distance. The intermediate ground is dry, and although the 
trees arc tolerably thick, it is in many places clear of underbrush. Across this strip 
of land, its left appeyed upon the river, supported by artillery placed in the wood, 
their right in the swamp covered by the whole of their Indian force, the British trc»ps 
were drawn up. 

The troops at my disposal consisted of about one hundred and twenty regulars, of 
the twenty-seventh regiment, five brigades of Kentucky volunteer militia infantry, 
under his excellency governor Shelby, averaging less than five hundred men, and coL 
Johnson's Regiment of mounted infantry, making in the whole an aggregate some- 
thing above three thousand. jVo disposition of an army, opposed to an Indian force, 
can be safe, unless it is secured on the flanks and in the rear. I had therefore no 
difliculty in arranging the infantry comformably to my general order of battle. Gene- 
ral Trotter's brigade of five hundred men, formed the front line, his right upon the 
road and his left upon the swamp. General King's bri2a<le as a second line, one 
hundred and fifty yards in the rear of Trotter's, and Ghiles's brigade as a corps of 
reserve in the rear of it. These three brigades formed the command of major-general 
Henri' ; the whole of general Desha's division consisting of two brigades, were 
formed en potence upon the left of Trotter. 

Whilst 1 was engaged in forming the infantry, I had directed col. Johnson's regi- 
ment, which was still in front, to be formed in two lines opposite to the enemy, and, 
upon the advance of the infantry, to take ground to the left, and forming upon that 
flank to endeavour to turn the right of the Indians. A moment's reflection, ho vever, 
convinced me that from the thickness of the woods and swampiness of the ground, 
they would be unable to do any thing on horseback, and there was no time to dis- 
mount them and place their horses in security; I therefore determined to refu-e my 
left to the Indians, and to break the British lines at once by a charge of the mounted 
infantry ; the measure was not sanctioned by any thing that I had seen or heard of, 
but I was fully convinced that it would succeed. The American backwoodsmen ride 
better in the woods than any other people. A musket or rifle is no impediment to 
them, being accustomed to carry them on horseback from their earliest youth. I was 
persuaded too that the enemy would be quite unprepared for the shock, and that they 
could not resist it Conformably to thi.s idea, I directed the regiment to be drawn up 
in close columns, with its right at a distance of fifty yards from the road, (that it 
might be in some measure protected by the trees from the artillery,) its left upon the 
swamp, and to charge at full speed as soon as the enemy delivered their fire. The 
few regular troops of the twenty-seventh regiment, under their colonel (Paul) oc- 
cupied, in column of sections of four, the small space between the road and the river, 
for the purpose of seizing the enemy's artillery, and some ten or twelve friendly 
Indians were directed to move under the bank. The cotchet formed by the front 
line and general Desha's division was an important point. At that place, the vene- 
rable governor of Kentucky was posted, who at the age of sixty-six preserves all the 



40 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. - 

vigor of voulh, the ardent zeal which (listinguishetl him in the revolutionary war, 
and the niulauiited bravery which ht manifested at King's Mountain. With my 
aid-dc-camp, tlic acting a.ssislant adjutant-general captain Butler, my gallant friend, 
commodore Perry, who did me the honor to serve as my volunteer aid-de-camp, and 
brigadier-general Cass, who having no command tendered me his assistance. I placed 
myself at the head of the front line of infantry, to direct the movement of the cavalry 
and give them the necessary support. The army had moved on in this order but » 
short distance, when the mounted men received the fire of the British line and were 
ordered to charge ; the horses in the front of the column recoiled from the fire; an- 
other was given by the enemy, and our column, at length, getting in motion, broke 
through the enemy with irresistible force. In one minute, the contest in front was 
over; the British officers, seeing no hopes of reducing thoir disordered ranks to order, 
and our mounted men wheeling upon them and pouring in a destructive fire, imme- 
diately surrendered. It is certain that three only of our troops were wounded in 
this charge. Upon the left, however, the contest was more severe with the Indians. 
Col. Johnson, who commande<l on that flank of his regiment, received a most gallinjg 
fire from then), which was returned with great effect. The Indians still further to the 
right advanced, and fell in with our front line of infantry, near its junction with Desha's 
division, and for a moment made an impression upon it. His excellency governor 
Shelby, however, brought up a regiment to its support, and the enemy receiving a 
.severe fire in front, and a part of Johnson's regiment having gained their rear, 
retreated with precipitation. Their loss was very considerable in the action, and 
many were killed in their retreat. 

I can give no satisfactory information of the number of Indians that were in the 
action, but they must have been considerably upwards of one thousand. From the 
documents in my possession, (general Proctor's oflicial letters, all of which were 
taken,) and from the information of respectable inhabitants of this territory, the 
Indians kept in pay by the British were much more numerous than has been gene- 
rally supposed. lu a letter to general de Rottenburg of the 27th instant, general 
Proctor speaks of having prevailed upon most of the Indians to accompany him. 
^Of these it is certain that fifty or sixty Wyandot warriors abandoned him.* 

The number of our troops was certainly greater than that of the enemy, but wlieu 
it is recollected, that they had cho.sen a position that effectually secured their flank, 
which it was impossible for us to turn, and that we could not present to them a line 
more extended than their own, it will not be considered arrogant to claim for my 
troops the palm of superior bravery. 

In communicating to the president through you, sir, my opinion of the conduct of 
the officers who served under my command, I am at a loss how to mention that of 
governor Shelby, being convinced that no eulogium of mine can reach his merit. 
The governor of an independent state, greatly my superior in years, in experience and 
in military character, he placed himself under my command, and was not more re- 
markable for his zeal and activity, than for the promptitude and cheerfulness with 
which he obeyed my orders. The major-generals Henry and Desha, and the briga- 
diers Allen, Caldwell, King, Chiles, and Trotter, all of the Kentucky volunteers, 
manifested great zeal and activity. Of governor Shelby's stafT, his adjutant-general, 
colonel MDowell, and his quarter-master-general, colonel Walker, rendered great 
service, as did his aids-de-camp, general Adair, and majors B.arry and Crittenden. 
The military skill of the former was of great service to us, and the activity of the twe 
latter gentlemen could not be surpassed. Illness deprived me of tlie talents of my 
adjutant-general, colonel Gaines, who was left at Sandwich. His duties were, how- 
ever, ably performed by the acting assistant adjutant-general, captain Butler. • My 
aids-de-camp, lieutenant O'Fallon, and captam Todd, of the line, and my volunteer 
aids, Jdhu Speed Smith, and John Chambers, escj. have rendered me the most import- 
ant service from the opening of the campaign. I have already stated that general 
Cass and commodore Perry assisted me in forming the troops for action. The former 
is an ofliccr of the highest merit, and the appearance of the brave commodore cheered 
ttui! animated every breast. 

* \ Rritish otTirpr of liijli rank asaurrd one of my airis-ile-camp, that on the day of our 
'andiirs. fcnoral Prnctnr hail, at his disposal, upwards of three thousand Indian warriors, but 
lUMvrlud tii.M the greatest (utrt hud left liim previous to the action. 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 41 

It would be useless, sir, after stating the circumstances of the action, to pass 
encomiums upon colonel Johnson and his regiment. Veterans could not have mani- 
fested more firmness. The colonel's numerous wounds prove that he was in the post 
of danger. Lieutenant-colonel James Johnson, and the majors Payne and Thomp- 
son were equally active, though more fortunate. Major Wood of the engineers, 
already distinguished by his conduct at Fort Meigs, attended the army with two si)c- 
pounders. Having no use for them in the action, he joined in the pursuit of the 
enemy, and with major Payne of the mounted regiment, two of my aids-de-camp, 
Todd and Chambers, and three privates, continued it for several miles after the rest of 
the troops had halted, and made many prisoners. 

I left the army before an olHcial return of the prisoners, or that of the killed and 
wounded, was made out. It was, however, ascertained that the former amounts to 
six hundred and one regulars, including twenty-five officers. Our loss is seven killed 
and twenty-two wounded, five of which have since died. Of the British troops 
twelve were killed and twenty-two wounded. The Indians suffered most — thirty- 
three having been found upon the ground, besides those killed in the retreat. 

On the day of the action, six pieces of brass artillery were taken, and two iron 
twenty-four pounders the day before. Several others were discovered in the river, and 
can be easily procured. Of the brass pieces, three are the trophies of our revolution- 
ary war that were taken at Saratoga and York, and surrendered by general Hull. 
The number of small arms taken by us, and destroyed by the enemy, must amount to 
upwards of five thousand ; most of them had been ours, and taken by the enemy at 
the surrender of Detroit, at the river Raisin, and colonel Dudley's defeat. I believe 
that the enemy retain no other military trophy of their victories than the standard of 
the fourth regiment. They were not magnanimous enough to bring that of the forty- 
first regiment into the field, or it would have been taken. 

You have been informed, sir, of the conduct of the troops under my command in 
action ; it gives me great pleasure to inform you, that they merit also the approbation 
of their country for their conduct, in submitting to the greatest privations with the 
utmost cheerfulness. 

The infantry were entirely without tents, and for several days, the whole army 
subsisted upon fresh beef without bread or salt. 

I have the honor to be, &c. 

WiLHAM H. Harrisox. 
GeneralJuJm Armstrong, secretary of war. 

P. S. General Proctor escaped by the fleetness of his horses, escorted by forty 
dragoons and a number of mounted Indians." 

Perry's glorious victory on Lake Erie and the victory of the Thames, diffused the 
greatest animation and joy throughout the United States. The cities were illu- 
HiiNated, and every tongue sounded the praises of the heroes, whilst the press teemed 
with complimentary notices. The following from Niles, vol. v. p. 145, describes 
several of the illuminations. 

"At Philadelphia. — Agreeable to permission granted by the mayor, the capture 
of general Proctor's army by the United States army under general Harrison, was 
celebrated in this city on the evening of the 21st October by a brilliant illumination 
— the suburbs also exhibited their usual degree of patriotic feeling, and even the town 
of Camden (opposite) was lit up. 

The transparencies in different parts of the city were so numerous, that it would 
be a vain task to attempt a particular description of them — we shall therefore notice 
a few only, without any design, however, to disparage others. 

The most conspicuous we saw, were those of the house of Jacob G. Kotch, corner 
of Ninth and Market streets — the Market street front presented five diiTerent trans- 
parencies, in front of as many large windows. 

The basement story presented two ; the western window contained a shaft of a 
fluted Doric column, round which was a scroll containing a phrase from general 
Harrison's official letter — ' It has pleased Providence ;' on the summit of the shaft 
was a bust, with a scroll above, inscribed, ' Hahhtson.' 

On the window adjacent was a similar shaft, with a scroll containing the sentence 
6 



/ 



42 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

from commodore Perry's letter — ' It has phased the Almighty,^ and on the summit a 
bust presented by the scroll, inscribed • Peurt.' 

On the middle story, west window, was a female figure, large as life, with the 
American shield, the stripes in the lower field, and the stars on a blue ground in the 
tjpper; beneath the feet of the figure, which represented Amebica, was a lion 
crouching, witli the foot of a figure on its neck ; from the mouth of the figure issued 
a label iriscri!)ed, ' Virtue, Lihcrti/, '' hpendence.' 

On the cast window was a repress /nation of an American general officer, and two 
Indian chiefs at his feet; the glittering tomahawk and scalping knife were on the 
ground ; and from the mouth of one of the Indians issued a label with the words 
' Accept oiir submission.' 

In the attic window was a naval trophy ; the ground work the American flag, over 
which appeared in relief, a pennant, inscribed, ' Free trade and sailors' rights.' 

The west part of Mr. Kotch's house in Ninth street, was illuminated and decorated 
in another but elegant style ; the numerous windows exhibited wax lights tastefully 
interspersed with bouquets and flower vases of a great variety of kinds, and wreaths, 
festoons, and garlands of laurel, myrtle, oak, palm, and grape leaves. 

The front of the house of Mr. Mills, architect, in George street, between Eighth 
and Ninth, was beautifully illuminated ; in the front there was a large trans[)arency 
of military action, the flight of the enemy and the pursuit, in a very beautiful style. 

At the corner of Eighth and Race streets was erected a triumphal arch of about 
forty feet elevation and diameter, illuminated; and bearing a portrait and emblems 
commemorable of the glorious events. 

At the corner of Third and Chesnut, there was a very elegant transparency: a 
portrait of a general officer at full length, with miUtary apparatus. This transpa- 
rency was very well executed. 

The theatre presented a variety of transparencies and an illumination of colored 
lamps; the effijct was beautiful; but only one transparency was new, the rest were 
from the painter's loft 

In several houses we could perceive transparencies of ships, and mottoes, all signi- 
ficant of that event. 

At the adjutant-general's oflice the British flag, on which Was written in large 
characters, ' taken at Erie.' The immense crowd which was collected to see the 
British flag ' taken at Erie' is inconceivable ; several bands of music and companies 
of ladies visited this spectacle so exhilarating. 

It was observed by a lady in the group, ' that a victory like Perry's, which gave 
security and repose to two hundred thousand families, who had a week before never 
went to sleep with the certainty of escaping conflagration or the tomahawk until 
morning, was a true occasion for rejoicing.' 

A tradesman's house between Third and Fourth, in Market street, displayed at 
every window a series nf shields in transparent colours, on each of which was inscribed 
the names of some of our gallant countrymen — amongst whom were Fike, King, 
Chrystie, Wook, Croghan, Johnson — Rogers, Decotur, Hull, Laurrence, Perry, 
Jones, Bainbridge, Chauncey, Barrougfis, Allen, Moffat, Wonsler, Elliot. 

Mr. Murray, engraver, had an exquisite transparency. And there were several 
which we should have wished to have stayed and seen, but the current ofbeautif which 
swam along the streets left little opportunity to dwell for any suflicient time on the 
transparencies generally. 

The town at ten o'clock displayed a scene of silence and tranquillity, such as no 
city or country in the universe could show the like; it was not the sullen command 
of despotism, or the agonizing cuifrw, that bade slaves retire to darkness and sorrow ; 
but a free and happy people, elated by the glory and safety of their country, and the 
achievements of their gallant defenders, entering with the order of honorable virtue 
into the celebration of their hap|)iiiess, and vindicating their claim to the eternal en- 
joyment of their liberties and right, by a reverence for social order. Philadelphia, at 
half an hour after exhibiting the streets crowde<l with beauty, in numbers equal at 
'east to any city of the world, was as quiet and undisturbed by the footsteps of the 
passenger, as the prairies of Louisiana — it was an exquisite sensation to view, at half 
past nine o'clock, tlie gay, giddy, cheerful, happy, innocent crowd, pressing without 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 43 

luJeness or ill nature along the well-paved footways. In an hour all disappeared — the 
windows, which were illuminated with joy, had dischnrprod their tribute to public 
gladness — they were now de(hc;itcd to silen(:e and repose — the streets picsnnted their 
accustomed appearance, and the lamps seemed reluctant to show the passenger hi.s 
way, jealous of the blaze that had concealed their usefulness the preceding part of 
the evening. — Aurora. 

At New Yohk. — On Saturday evening, October 23, pursuant to a resolution of 
the common council, the Citi/ Hull was illuminated in honor of the recerit successes 
of the American arms in Upper Canada. That magnificent structure, by far the 
most splendid pile of architecture in America, and not exceeded by many in Europe, 
was lighted throughout its spacious front, (comprising upwanls of fifiy windows and 
divisions in the portico,) to the tower or cupola on the centre, as well as in its exten- 
sive wings, containing about thirty windows. The transparent naval paintings used 
at the former celebrations in the city hotel were here disjjlayed. with the addition of 
the dying injunction of the gallant Lawrence, ' Bnii'f ii;iue up (he skip.' 

Tuiamany Hull next claimed the attention of the thousands of admiring spec- 
tators. Over the principal entrance of this building was exhibited a well executed 
emblematic transparency, painted by Mr. Holland, representing the Indian chiefs 
surrendering to general Harrison, soliciting peace, and delivering their women and 
children as hostages, with a view of the battle of Lake Erie, and commodore Perry 
leaving his ship for the Niagara. 

The Theatre presented a transparent painting, exhibiting the American eagle 
spreading over a considerable portion of the globe, and pointing with its beak to the 
motto from Perry's immortal despatch, ' We have met the enemi), end they are ours.' 
The front of this massy edifice was ornamented with variegated lamps. 

The Naval Panorama, next adjoining, exhibited a mechanical transparency, 
representing, in continual and rapid motion, a Hornet striking a Peacock in its breast, 
with other figures and suitable devices and inscriptions. 

At the Debtor's Prison, in letters of fire, appeared, ' We have met the enemy, S(c. 
Go ye and do likewise.' 

Washington and Mechanics' Halls were illuminated. The custom-house also, and 
the different hotels, public houses, and markets, joined in the hriliiant and gratifying 
display. 

From the battery were seen two of commodore Lewis's gun-boats, superbly deco- 
rated with lamps of various colors. The commodore's barge was ornamented with 
patriotic transparencies, and in the course of the evening, a discharge of rockets from 
his boat enlivened the scene. — Columbian. 

At RicHMoxn. — The illumination took place by recommendatioii of the mayor as 
follows : — 

Fellow Citizens — Again, 'by blessing of pnoTiDF.ircE,' we are victohiocs 
The complete victory obtained over the combined Indian and British forces, under the 
command of general Proctor, who has himself doubtless ere this graced the triumph 
of our most gallant general Harrison, will give us entire possession of the Canadas : 
and operate more powerfully to the restoration of peace, than the mediation of any 
power on earth. Give vent to your feelings; think of Perry who paved the way. 
of Harrison, whose intrepid valor has thus so nobly achieved the victory. Let au 
illumination generally take place throughout our city on the evening of to-morrow, 
under this restriction only ; that by ten of the evening, they be all extinguished — the 
safety of our city requires that I should urge this precaution — when it is most 
ardently wished, that every citizen will retire with grateful hearts to their respective 
abodes. 

Doubtless every patriotic sentiment will lead our citizens to concur in this recon? 
mendation. But let the houses of absentees, of orphans, &c., which may not be 
lighted on this memorable occasion, be respected. 

Mayor's office, Sunday evening, 10 P. M. Robert Giieenhow, Mavor." 

The following account of the Richmond illumination is from the " Virginia Pa 

(riot :"— 

" The illumination, in this citv, on Monday evening last, was by far the most splen 
4 



M THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

did wc have ever witnessed, and in every respect suited to the occasion. Before ftifl 
sable clouds of night had enveloped the city in darkness, the illumination commenced, 
and the names of ' Perry, Harrison, and Chauncey,' soon shone with distinguished 
lustre in every quarter. Every thing like base, sordid avarice, yielded to the finer 
feelings of patriotism ; and with few exceptions, a just sensibility pervaded every 
bosom. Many transparent and appropriate paintings presented themselves to the view; 
but it would be invidious to notice the exertions of any particular individual, where 
all performed their duty. To crown the climax, and give a zest to joy, the ladies of 
Richmond were seen descending in lovely groups from Shockoc Hill to the main 
street, there to ornament and emliellish the scene. The most perfect harmony and 
good order prevailed ; and the ladies roamed about in full security, free and undis- 
turbed. In short, but one sentiment seemed to exist: the sunshine of joy and exul- 
tation illuminated every countenance, and none was found 

'So lost to virtue, lost to manly thought,' 

as to dare interrupt this delightful banquet of the mind, by the least improper conduct. 
To be sure, the civil authority, much to their credit, took every necessary step to 
prevent disorderly behavior ; but we rejoice to say, sensual pleasures were forgotten, 
while the names of ' Perry, Harrison, and Chauncey,' dwelt on every tongue. At 
nine, the streets were generally clear of the crowd, and at ten o'clock, agreeably to 
the mayor's request, every light was extinguished." 

The following paragraphs appeared in the Democratic Press and Richmond In- 
quirer. See Niles, vol. v. p. 149. 

"General Harrisou (says the Democratic Press) has added a new manoeuvre to the 
science of military tactics — the charging bayonet on horseback ; which may afford 
some ingenious Englishman an opportunity of discovering a method of counteracting 
it, just as captain Manby has explained to the enlightened John Bull the American 
secret of conquering at sea. 

General Harrison's detailed letter (says the Richmond Inquirer) tells us every 
thing that we wish to know about the officers except himself. He does justice to 
every one, but to Harrison — and the world must, therefore, do justice to the 
man who was too modest to be just to himself. We ask what heart is there that 
does not bow with gratitude to the gallantry of Shelby, who has shone in two wars, 
and of Perrj', who conquers on both elements!" 

In the same volume, p. 132, we find the general orders of general Harrison, detail- 
ing the plan for the debarkation of his troops into Canada. It is too long for in- 
sertion here, but is another evidence that he can " do his oum fighting as well as his 
ov:ti writing." The following order, however, issued on the day of the debarkation 
of his troops, is highly honorable to his humanity. Niles, vol. v. p. 149. 

"genekal owuer. 

The general entreats his brave troops to remember that they are the sons of sires 
whose fame is immortal : that they are to fight for the rights of their insulted coun- 
try, whilst their opponents combat for the unjust pretensions of a master. 

Kentcckians — remember the river Piaisin ; but remember it only whilst the vic- 
lory is suspended. The revenge of a soldier cannot be gratified upon a fallen enemy. 
By command, Robkut Blti-f.r, assistant adjutant-general." 

On tie 29th day of September, 1813, he issued his proclamation reinstating the 
< ivil authorities at Michigan. Niles, vol. v. p. 173. 

" By William Henry Harrison, major-general in the army of the United States, and 
commander-in-chief of the Eighth Military District, 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Tne enemy having been driven from the territory of Michigan, and a part of the 
army under iny command having taken possession of it, it becomes necessary that the 
cjvil government of the territory should be re-established, und the former officers re- 
new the exercise of their authority ; I have therefore thought proper to proclaim, that ■ 
all appoinlmeni* and commissions which have been derived from British officers, are 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 45 

at an end ; that, the citizens of the territory are restored to all the rights and privilej^cs 
which they enjoyed j)reviousIy to the capitulation made by genera! Hull on the 15th 
of Augusit, 1812. Under the present circumstances, and imtil the will of the c;o- 
verninent be knovvn, I have thought proper to direct that all persons havin;T civil 
ofliccs in the territory of Michigan, at the period ot tiie capitulation of Detroit, re- 
sume the exercise ot" the powers appertaining to their ofFiccs respectively. In tho 
present dispersed state of its population, many officers are, doubtl-ss, absent. In all 
cases thus situated, the last incumbent who resigned the otlice, will resume the exer- 
cise of its duties. The laws in force at the period above mentioned, will be re-es 
tablished and continue in force until repealed by the proper autlioiity. 
Given at Head-quarters, the 20th day of September, 1 8 J 3. 

Wm. H. HAnRisoir. 

Having, in conjunction with the gallant Perry, (whose victory* on Lake Erie on 
the ever memorable 10th of September, 1813, struck terror to the foe, and forever 
destroyed her boasted claims to supremacy on the ocean,) taken quiet possession of 
Upper Canada, they issued the following {iroclamation. Niles, vol. v. p. 215. 

♦' By William Henry Harrison, major-general in the service of the United States, 
commander-in-chief of the north-western army, and Ohver Hazard Perry, captain in 
the navy, and commanding the fleet of the United States, on Lake Erie, 

A PKOCLAMATIOX. 

AVhereas, by the combined operations of the land and naval forces under our com- 
mand, those of the enemy within the upper district of Upper Canada have been cap- 
tured or destroyed, and the said district is now in the quiet possession of our troops : 
it becomes necessary to provide for its government : — Therefore, we do hereby pro- 
claim and make known, that the rights and privileges of the inhabitants, and the laws 
and customs of the country, as they existed or were in force at the period of our arri- 
val, shall continue to prevail. All magistrates and other civil officers are to resume 
the exercise of their functions ; previously taking an oath to be faithful to the go- 
vernment of the United States, as long as they shall be in possession of the counirv. 
The authority of all militia commissions is suspended in said district, and the officers 
required to give their parole, in such way as the officer, who may be appointed by the 
commanding general to administer the government, shall direct. 

The inhabitants of said district are promised protection to their persons and pro- 
perty, with the exception of those cases embraced by the proclamation of general 
Proctor, of the ult which is declared to be in force, and the powers therein as- 
sumed transferred to the officer appointed to administer the government. 

Given under our hands and seals, at Sandwich, this 17th of October, 1813. 

(Signed) Wsr. H. Harrisox. 

Oliver H. Perry." 

On the 28th of October, 1813, general Harrison arrived at New' York, having left 
his army in winter quarters at Sacket's Harbor, where commodore Chauncey, having 
brought it from Fort George, was about to lay up his fleet for the season. On the 
1st of December, 1813, the citizens of New York entertained him at Tammany 
Hall, by a public dinner, which was got up in the most splendid style. His toast 
was: 

" ' The Freedom of the Seas, and the adoption by our government of that Roman 
maxim, which secured to the citizen his inviolability.' Which was responded to by 
twelve cheers .'" Niles, vol. v. p. 251. 

On the 9th of December, 1813, (Niles, vol. v. p. 263,) general Harrison partook of a 
public entertainment at Philadelphia. His suit was also invited. The regular 
toasts being drunk, the general rose, and "with much expressiveness of manner," 
said — 

• The ffiUowing is a copy of Perry's letter to General Harrison announcing tlie event. 

UviUd States Brig magara, off ths Western Sister, Septemher 10, IS13, 4 P. M. 
Dear general— V\i 6 have met tlie enemy and ttiey are ours— two ships, two brigs, one 
scfiooner, ;in(i a sloop. Yours with great tespect and esteem, 

Genwial W. U. Harbisom. Oliver Hazard PerIiV 



46 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

" Gentlemen — Permit me to offer you a volunteer toast, and very briefly to state 
the motive which proinjits me to taivc one of the regular toasts of the day as a mean 
of communicating my opinion. Believing, as I4I0, that a sentiment is gaining ground 
unfriendly to republicanism and injurious to the nation, and knowing from my own 
experience, that the sentiment is not well founded, I will give you 

The militia of the United States — they possess the Roman spirit, and when our 
government shall think proper to give them that organization and discipline of which 
they are susceptible, they will perform deeds that will emulate those of the legions 
led by M.ircellus, and Scipio." 

He also stopped a short time in Baltimore, and was waited upon, and congratulated 
by the citizens. 

"It would seem," says Niles, vol. v. p. 264, "as if general Harrison, and commo- 
dore Perry had agreed to praise each other ; for while the former speaks of the 
commodore, his officers and men with rapture, the latter is no less eloquent in praise 
of the general, and the brave men under him." 

"In the signal victory," said the Boston Chronicle, (Niles, vol. v. p. 2C3,) "gained 
over Barclay's fleet, and Proctor's army, it is impossible to separate the brave and 
victorious commanders. Perry and Harrison. The circumstances are indeed very 
striking. Harrison sent reinforcements to assist Perry, and the action terminated in 
the capture of the tohok British Jieet. In return commodore Perry, volunteered with 
Harrison, and assisted him in the capture of the British army. 

In the following letter Peny does justice to the zeal of Harrison and his gallant 
soldiers : — 

United States schooner Ariel, September 15, 1813. 

Sir — The very great assistance, in the action of the 10th inst., derived from those 
men you were pleased to send on board the squadron, render it a duty to return you 
ray sincere thanks for so timely a reinforcement. In fact, sir, I may say, without 
those men the victory could not have been achieved ,- and equally I assure you, that 
those otTicers and men behaved as became good soldiers and seamen. Those who 
were under my immediate observation, evinced great ardor and bravery. Captain 
Brevort, of the second regiment of infantry, serving on board the Niagara, I beg leave 
to recommend particularly to your notice : he is a brave and gallant officer, and as far 
as I am capable of judging an excellent one. I am convinced you will present the 
merit of this officer to the view of the honorable secretary of war, as I shall to the 
honorable secretary of the navy. 

Very respectfully, I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
(Signed) Oliver H. Pjcbrt. 

^jor-genernl W. H. Harrison, commander-in-chief of the N. W. Army. 

Commodore Perry, also, while at Albany, spoke in the highest terms of eulogium 
of the Kentucky volunteers, and in strains of admiration of the veteran Shelby. He 
represented them as ' brave even to imprudence,' as ' liberal, generous, and humane, 
almost to a fault.' " 

Governor Snyder of Pennsylvania, in his annual message to the legislature of that 
state, December 10, 1813, (see Niles, vol. v. p. 257,) speaking of the recent 
glorious victories on water and land, said — 

"As a prelude we refer with pride to the glorious victory on Lake Erie, which if 
ever equalled, was, in naval warfare never excelled. A victory not less brilliant in its 
achievement than important in its effects ; not less honorable to the nation, than to the 
highly distinguished Perry who commanded, and to the brave officers and men wh* 
composed that heroic force. Already is the brow of the young warrior Croghan en- 
circled with laurels, and thk blkssings of thousands of womex and childbew 

RESeCEII FUOM THE SCALPING KNIFE OF THE RUTHLESS SAVAGE OF THE Wlt- 
IlKKWESS AND FIIOM THK STILL MORE SAVAGE PuOCTOR REST ON HAliniSOrr 

iwn HIS OALLANT ARM 7. Cliaunccy, though not equally successful with the 
renowned hero of Lake Erie, has sought and deserves to be so. On that element 
claimed by Britain as her exclusive domain, the Ameican flag wa»ed triumphant in 
every equal conflict." 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 47 

Jaraes Madison, president of the United States, in his annual message, dated 
December 7, 1813, (Niles, vol. v. p. 346,) said— 

" The success on Lake Erie having opened a passage to the territory of the enemy, 

the officer commanding the north-wrstern army transferred the war thither ; and 
rapidly pursuing the hostile troops fleeing with their savage associates, forced a 
general action, which quickly terminated in the capture of the British, and dispersion 
of the savage force. 

This result is signally honorable to major-general Harrison, by whose military 
talents it was prepared ; to colonel Johnson and his mounted volunteers, whose impe- 
tuous onset gave a decisive blow to the ranks of the enemy ; and to the spirit of the 
volunteer militia, equally brave and patriotic, who bore an interesting part in the 
scene ; more especially to the chief magistrate of Kentucky at the head of them, 
whose heroism, signalised in the war which established the independence of his 
country, souRht, at an advanced age, a share in hardships and battles for maintaining 
its rights and its safety. 

The effect of these successes has been to rescue the inhabitants of Michigan from 
their oppressions, aggravated by gross infractions of the capitulation which subjected 
them to a foreign power; to allienate the savages of numerous tribes from the 
enemy, by whom they were disappointed ami abandoned ; and to relieve an extensive 
region of country from a merciless warfare which desolated its frontiers, and Imposed 
on its citizens the most harrasing services." 



CHAPTER VII. 

geneKai. KAnnisox takes command of the eighth military bistuict — 
HESiGNs his commission, and returns to his fabm at north bend 

appointed a commissioner to treat with the INDIANS ELECTED A 

member of the house of REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES HIS 

SERVICES IN CONGRESS RESOLUTION AND SPEECH IN FAVOR OF ERE<;TINB A 

MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF KOSCIUSKO DEMANDS AN INVESTIGATION 

OF HIS ACCOUNTS WHILST IN COMMAND OF THE EIGHTH MILITARY DISTRICT 
GOLD 3IEUAL, AND THE THANKS OF CONGRESS VOTED TO KIM. 

In January, 1814, general Harrison resumed at Cincinnati, the command of the 
eighth military district, but on the 8th of May ensuing, resigned his commission in 
the array. The reasons which induced him to take this step, are so fully and satis- 
factorily stated in a most valuable pamphlet, recently jiublished in Cincinnati, 
entitled, "■ S/>-etcJies of the Civil and Military Services of Willium Henry Harrison. 
By Charles S. Todd, late an imptctor-general in the United Siates army, and Ben- 
jamin Drake, author of the life of Black Hawk, iSfC." that the compiler takes the 
liberty of inserting them here. 

" The course of public opinion during the winter," say the authors of the 
pamphlet, " indicated very decidedly that general Harrison ought to be invested with 
the chief command in the next campaign. Commodore Perry, who had witnessed 
the exertions, the skill and bravery of general Harrison, addressed to him about this 
{)eriod, a letter, in which he says, ' You know what has been my opinion as to the 
future commander-in-chief of the army. I pride myself not a little, I assure you, on 
seeing my predictions so near being verified ; yes, my dear friend, I expect to hail you 
as the chief who is to redeem the honor of our arms in the north.' The veteran 
general McArthur, another eye-witness to the career of general Harrison, wrote to 
him early in 1814, from Albany, New York, from which the following is an extract: 
* You, sir, stand the highest with the militia of this state of any general in the 
servicx^, and I am confident, that no man can fight them to so great an advantage ; and 
I thiidi their extreme solicitude may be the means of callhig you to this frontier.' 
But from causes, which it is difficult at this time to explain, general Armstrong's 
feelings and opinions in relation to general Harrison, had undergone a material change. 
His letter of the 14th May, 1814, enclosing the plan of the campaign, as submitted 



4S THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-POOK. 

to the president on the 30th of April, fully authorizes the inference that general Har- 
rison would not 1)0 a.^s^gned any coaimand in the adivc operations of the a])proaching 
cainpaisD. All of the troops in the eighdi military district, excepting garrisons for 
Detroit and Maiden, were to he held in readiness to move down the lake to Buifalo, 
and general McArlhur was desigiiattd for the command of those corps, including the 
seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-fourth, and twenty-eighth regiments of regulars 
This arrangement of all the disposable force in Uie north-iveal, while It left general 
Harrison to remain in the eighth military district, was made after the receiiit at the 
war ollice of his letter of the 13th of Fehruary, 1814, in which he expresses his 
vi-;\vs and feelings arising from the .interference of the secretary in withdrawing 
general Howard from his command. That letter concludes with the following de- 
claration : ' Apart from the considerations of my duty to my country, I have no in- 
ducement to remain in the army, and if the prerogatives of my rank and station as 
the commander of a district, be taken from me, heing fully convinced that I can render 
Ko important service, I should much rather be permitted to retire to private life.'* 

This was the condition of things, when the secretary persevered in interfering with 
his prerogatives, as the commander of the district, by despatching to major Holmes, 
a subordinate officer at Detroit, an order to take two hundred men from ttiat post, and 
proceed on board commodore Sinclair's fleet, destined to Macinaw. This proceeding, 
on the part of the secretary, was a gross invasion of military propriety ; and whatever 
may have been the design, it authorized general Harrison to suppose it was not the 
intention of the secretary to respect his rank as commander of the district. The 
order not only passed by the general, but was derogatory to the rank of colonel 
Croghan, the immediate commander of the post. That gallant young officer spoke 
of this course without reserve ; and in a letter to general Harrison, made the following 
appropriate remarks: 'Major Holmes has been notilied by the war department, th-.it 
he is chosen to command the land troops which are intended to co-operate with the 
fleet against the enemy's force on the upper lakes. So soon as I may be directed by 
vou to order major Holmes on that command, and to furnish him with the necessary 
troops, I shall do so ; but not till then shall he, or any other part of my force, leave 
the sod.'l In another letter to general Harrison, he remarks : ' I know not how to 
account for the secretary of war's assuming to himself the right of designating major 
Holmes for this command to Macinaw. My ideas on the subject may not be correct ; 
vet for the sake of the principle, were I a general commanding a district, I would be 
very far from suffering the secretary of war, or any other authority to interfere with 
my internal police.':}: This order to major Holmes would authorize the inference that 
the secretary may have had other correspondence with him or other inferior officers 
of the district. It was evidently a course of conduct indicating a very dillcrent state 
of feeling towards the only successful general of the previous campaigns, from that 
implied by the unlimited powers confided to him in 18 12-' 1.3. Of the impolicy and 
great indelicacy, of a secretary at war interfering in the internal arrangenu-nts of the 
district confided to a comnianuing general, abundant evidence is afforded in the un- 
military order given to colonel .Fohnsoii in June, 1813, to march to St. Louis. 
Colonel Johnson and his regiment were anxious to participate in the contemplated 
movements into Canada, and were exceedingly mortilied with this order, interfering 
as well with their wishes as with the internal police of the commanding geiural. It 
was on this trying occasion that colonel Johnson, on the 4th of July, appealed to 
general Harrison, to countermand the order ; but the general regarded it as so impera- 
tive that he would not disobey it. In the colonel's letter, he expressed the wish, 
' to serve under a general who was hrave, skilful, and prudent ,-' but general Harri- 
son would only so far modify the order, as to permit colonel Johnson and his regiment 
to lake Kentucky in tlie route to St. Louis, in the hope that the horses might be re- 
cruited, and additional volunteers obtained. In the history of the late war in the 
west, it is stated, that ' he had scarcely reached Kentucky, before general Harrison had 
been authorized to recall him, by a letter from the war department, in which the 
secretary exjiressed his regi-et Ihut the order for his march had ever reached general 
H«irrison, and that the latter, knowing ike impropriety of the order, had not on that 
grounu delayed its execution.'^ 



» Dawson, 435. t McAJTee, 417. t McAlFee, 418. { McAffee, 337. 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 49 

Immediately upon the receipt, by general Harrison, of the notification of the order 
to major Holmes, he sent to the war department a resignation of his commission in 
the array ; accompanied by a letter of the same date, to the president of the United 
States. The felicity of style, and nobleness of sentiment which characterize that 
letter, warrant its introduction into these sketches : 

Head-quarters, Cincbiiati, May 11, 1814. 

Dear Sir — I have this day forwarded to the secretary of war my resignation of 
the commission I hold in the army. 

This measure has not been determined on, without a reference to all the reasons 
which should influence a citizen, who is sincerely attached to the honor and interests 
of his country ; who believes that the war in which we are engaged is just and ne- 
cessary ; and that the crisis requires the sacrifice of every private consideration, which 
could stand in opposition to the public good. But after giving the subject the most 
mature consideration, I am perfectly convinced, that my retiring from the army is as 
compatible with the claims of patriotism, as it is with those of my family, and a pro- 
per regard for my own feelings and honor. 

I have no other motives in writing this letter than to assure you, that my resigna- 
tion was not produced by any diminution of the interest I have always taken in the 
success of your administration, or of respect and attachment for your person. The 
former can only take place, when I forget the republican principles in which I have 
been educated ; and the latter, when I shall cease to regard those feelings, which must 
actuate every honest man, who is conscious of favors that it is out of his power to 
repay. Allow me, &c. 

Harrison. 

James Madison, Esq., President United States. 

As soon as governor Shelby understood that general Harrison had forwarded his 
resignation, he addressed a letter to the president, urging him to decline an acceptance. 
The president was on a visit to Virginia, to which place the letters from general 
Harrison and governor Shelby were forwarded, and that of the latter was not re- 
ceived, until after Armstrong, without the previous consent of the president, \ia.il taken 
upon himself the high prerogative of accepting the resignation. The president ex- 
pressed his great regret that the letter of governor Shelby had not been received at an 
earlier date, as in that case the valuable services of general Harrison would have 
been preserved to the nation in the ensuing campaigns. 

As that letter was written by a veteran soldier who had served under general Har- 
rison, and also under Gates, Greene, and Marion, of the revolutionary war, by which 
he was enabled to judge of their comparative merits, we insert it, that the present 
generation may form some idea of the loss sustained by the nation, in the resignation 
of general Harrison, produced by the course of general Armstrong in the war office. 

Frankfort, May 15, 1814. 

Dear Sir — The interest I feel for the prosperity of our beloved country, at all 
times, but especially in the common cause in which she is at present engaged, will, I 
flatter myself, be a sufficient apology for addressing you this letter. The motives 
which impel me, arise from considerations of public good, and are unknown to the 
gentleman who is the subject of the letter. 

It is not my intention to eulogize general Harrison ; he is not in need of that 
aid, his merits are too conspicuous not to be observed ; but it is my intention to ex- 
press to you with candor, my opinion of the general, founded on personal observation. 

A rumor has reached this state, which, from the public prints, appears to be be- 
lieved, that the commanding general of the northern army may be removed from 
that command. The circumstance has induced me to reflect on the subject, and give 
the decided preference to major-general Harrison, as a successor. Having served a 
campaign with general Harrison, by which I have been enabled to form some opi- 
nion of his military talents, and capacity to command, I feel no hesitation to declare to 
you, that I believe him to be one of the first military characters I ever knew ; and, in 
addition to this, he is capable of making greater personal exertions than any officer 
with whom I have ever served. I doubt not but it will hereafter be found, that the 
iommand of the north-western army, and the various duties attached to it, has beea 
7 E 



50 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

one of the most arduous and difficult tasks ever assigned to any officer in the United 
States ; yet he surmounted all. 

Impressed with the conviction, that general Harrison is fully adequate to the com- 
mand of the northern army, should a change take place in that division, I have ven- 
tured thus freely to state my opinion of him, that he is a consummate general, and 
would fill that station with ability and honor ; and that if, on the other hand, any 
arrangement should take place in the war department, which may produce the resig- 
nation of general Harrison, it will be a misfortune which our country will have 
cause to lament. His appointment to the command of the northern army would be 
highly gratifying to the wishes of the western people, except some who may, per- 
haps, he governed by sinister views. 

I confess the first impressions upon my mind, when informed of the defeat of 
colonel Dudley's regiment, on the 5th of May last, were unfavorable to general Harri- 
son's plans ; but on correct information, and a knowledge of his whole plans, I have 
no doubt but they were well concerted, and might, with certainty, have been executed 
had his orders been strictly obeyed. I mention this subject, because Mr. H. Clay 
informed me that he had shown you my letter, stating the impressions which that 
affair had first made upon my mind, on information that was not correct. 

Hoping that my opinion of this meritorious officer will not be unacceptable to you, 
I have candidly expressed it, and hoping the apology stated in the preceding part of 
this letter, will justify the liberty taken of intruding opinions unsolicited. 

I have the honor to be, most respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Isaac Suelbt. 

His Excellency, James Madison, President United States." 

Having resigned his commission, he retired to his farm at " North Bend," fifieen 
miles below Cincinnati; and in the summer of that year he was, with governor 
Shelby and general Cass, appointed to treat with some of the tribes of north-western 
Indians. Governor Shelby declined the appointment, in consequence of his official 
duties, says the pamphlet referred to, and general Adair was selected in his place. 
The result of this commission was a treaty with the Indians at Greenville. In 181.5 
he was appointed the head of another commission to treat with the Indians relative 
to the territory held by them previous to the war ; and in the council which was held 
at Detroit, he succeeded in making satisfactory treaties with nine important tribes. 

At the congressional election of IS 16, general Harrison was elected a member of the 
hjuse of representatives of tlie United States, for the state of Ohio, by a majority of 
more than one thousand votes over the aggregate number given to six competitors, 
and took his seat on the 2d of December. On the 6th of that month lie offered tho 
following, which was agreed to without a division. 

" Resolved, That the military committee be instructed to inquire into the expediency 
of providing by law for the relief of such of the officers and soldiers, who, having 
faithfull}' served in the armies of the United States, are now in distressed circum 
stances, and who, not having received wounds or disabilities, whilst in actual service, 
are excluded from the benefits of the pension laws, and that the said committee report 
by bill or otherwise," 

On the 30th of January, on his motion, the military committee was instructed to 
inquire into the expediency of granting a bounty of one hundred and sixty acres of 
land to all non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the army, who, having been enlist- 
ed previous to the 'i4th of December, 1811, are not entitled to said bounty, but who, 
having served faithfully through said war, have obtained an honorable discharge. 

These propositions laid the foundation for the measures which so materially benefit- 
ed the widows and orphans of the brave soldiers of the late war, who were objects of 
general Harrison's special care. 

During the session of 1817 — 18, a bill was before the house to increase the com- 
pensation of members of congress from six dollars per day to nitie dollars per day, and 
a moti<m being made (January 6, 1818) to strike out " nine" and insert "six" dollars 
«s the daily compensation, general Harrison said that 

" In ex]>lainiug what would otherwise appear an inconsistency in the vote he was 



THE TirrECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 51 

about to !?ive, he was aware that in order to preserve in congress talents of a proper 
grade, and to enable men of moderate property to come to congress without loss, a 
higher compensation was necessary than had heretofore been allowed to members of 
congress. But," said he, " holding, as we do, the key of the treasury, we ought not 
to do ourselves even justice, before wc do it to others whose claims are stronger, and 
of longer standing. Whenever justice shall be <lono to the sullerers in the war of 
the revolution, and not till then, I shall lie prepared to do justice to ourselves." 

[The revolutionary pension bill had not then become a law, though it did pass 
before the close of that session.] 

On the day following, (January 7,) the same bill being on its third readmg, general 
Harrison said, "he was persuaded that the members of the house who had voted for 
a compensation beyond the ancient allowance of six dollars, had voted under great 
embarrassment, pressed as they were on the one hand by a sense of duty and justice, 
and on the other by that delicacy which must be felt when they were acting as judges 
in their own cause. He thought, however, that there was a mode by which their 
feelings might be saved, and which, if adopted, would be as highly acceptable to the 
{leople as k would be honorable to their representatives. It would evince a disinte- 
restedness and magnanimity which could not foil to produce the most happy effects, 
and finally fix the compensation at the sum which their disinterested judgments 
should deem right. Being satisfied that it was a question to be determined rather by 
feeling than argument, he would say no more, but submit a resolution to recommit 
tlie bill, with instnidionts to amend it so far as to fix the compensation for^ t lie pre- 
sent cornx'-ess at six dollars, and for the ensuing congresses at eight dollars." 

The motion to recommit, &c., was lost, however, by a large majority, and the bill 
passed as it stood, (applying to the existing congress,) by yeas 109, nays 16; general 
Harrison voted in the negative. (See Niles, vol. xiii. p. 338.) 

On the 30th of January, 1818, he introduced the following resolution, and advo- 
cated it in the eloquent speech inserted below. See Niles, vol. xiii. pp. :357, 384. 

" Resolved, That a committee be appointed jointly with such committee as may be 
appointed by the senate, to consider and report what measures it may be proper to 
adopt, to manifest the public respect for the memory of general Thaddeus Kosciusko, 
formerly an officer in the service of the United States, and the uniform and distin- 
guished friend of liberty and the rights of man. 

The public papers have announced an event which is well calculated to excite the 
sympathy of every American bosom. Kosciusko, the martyr of liberty, is no more ! 
We are informed that he died at Soleure, in France, some time in October last. 

In tracing the events of this great man's life, we find in him that consistency of 
conduct which is the more to be admired as it is so rarely to be met with. He was 
not at one time the friend of mankind, and at another the instrument of their op- 
pression, but he preserved throughout his whole career those noble princi[)les which 
distinguished him in its commencement — which influenced him at an early period 6f 
his lifc to leave his country and his friends, and in another hemisphere to fight for the 
rights of humanity. 

Kosciusko was born and educated in Poland, of a noble and distinguished family — 
a country where the distinctions in society are perhaps carried to greater lengths than 
in any other. His Creator had, however, endowed him with a soul capable of rising 
above the narrow prejudices of a cast, and of breaking the shackles which a vicious 
education had imposed on his mind. 

When very young, he was informed, by the voice of Fame, that the standard of 
liberty had been erected in America ; that an insulted and oppressed people had deter- 
mined to be free, or perish in the attempt. His ardent and generous mind caught 
with enthusiasm the holy flame, and from that moment he became the devoted soldier 
of liberty. 

His rank in the American army afforded him no opportunity greatly to distinguish 
himself. But he was remarked throughout his service, for all the quahties which 
adorn the human character. His heroic conduct in the field, could only be equalled 
by his moderation and allability in the walks of private life. He was idolized by th« 
rfoldiers for his bravery, and beloved and respected by the ofiicers for the goodness nf 
;iis heart, and the great qualities of his mind. 



52 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

Contributing greatly, by his exertions, to the establishment of the independence of 
America, he might have remained, and shared the blessings it dispensed, under the 
protection of a chief who loved and honoured him, and in the bosom of a grateful 
and affectionate people. 

Kosciusko had, however, other views. It is not known that, until the period I am 
speaking of, he had formed any distinct idea of what could, or indeed what ought, to 
be done for his own. But in the revolutionary war he drank deeply of the principles 
which produced it. In his conversations with the intelligent men of our country, he 
acquired new views of the science of government and the rights of man. He had 
seen too that to be free it was only necessary that a nation should will it, and to be 
happy it was only necessary that a nation should be free. And was it not possiblft 
to procure these blessings for Poland ? For Poland, the country of his birth, which 
had a claim to all his efforts, to ail his services'! That unhappy nation groaneij 
under a complication of evils which has scarcely a parallel in history. The mass of 
the people were the abject slaves of the nobles— the nobles, torn into factions, were 
alternately the instruments and the victims of their powerful and ambitious neigh- 
bours. By intrigue, corruption, and force, some of its fairest provinces had been se- 
parated from the republic, and the people, like beasts, transferred to foreign despots, 
who were again watching for a favorable moment for a second dismemberment. To 
regenerate a people thus debased — to obtain for a country thus circumstanced, the 
blessings of liberty and independence, was a work of as much difficulty as danger. 
But to a mind like Kosciusko's the difficulty and danger of an enterprise served as 
stimulants to undertake it. 

The annals of these times give us no detailed account of the progress of Kosci- 
usko in accomplishing his great work, from the period of his return from America ta 
the adoption of the new constitution of Poland, in 1791. This interval, however, of 
apparent inaction, was most usefully employed to illumine the mental darkness which 
enveloped his countrymen. To stimulate the ignorant and bigoted peasantry with 
the hope of future emancipation — to teach a proud but gallant nobility that true glory 
is only to be found in the paths of duty and patriotism — interests the most opposed, 
prejudices the most stubborn, and habits the most inveterate, were reconciled, dissi- 
pated, and broken, by the ascendancy of his virtues and example. The storm which 
he had foreseen, and for which he had been preparing, at length burst upon Poland. 
A feeble and unpopular government bent before its fury, and submitted itself to the 
Russian yoke of the invader. But the nation disdained to follow its example ; in 
their extremity every eye was turned on the hero who had already fought their battles 
— the sage vvho had enUghtened them, and the patriot who had set the example of 
personal sacrifices to accomplish the emancipation of the people. 

Kosciusko was unanimously appointed generalissimo of Poland, with unlimited 
powers, until the enemy should be driven from the country. On his virtue the nation 
reposed with the utmost confidence ; and it is some consolation to reflect, amidst the 
general depravity of mankind, that two instances, in the same age, have occurred, 
where powers of this lund were employed solely for the purposes for which they were 
given. 

It is not my intention, sir, to follow the Polish chief throughout the career of vic- 
tory, which, for a considerable time crowned his efforts. Guided by his talents, and 
led by his valor, his undisciplined, illy armed militia charged with effect the veteran 
Russian and Prussian : the mailed cuirassiers of the great Frederic, for the first time, 
broke and fled before the lighter and appropriate cavalry of Poland. Hope filled the 
breasts of the patriots. After a long night, the dawn of an apparently glorious day 
broke upon Poland. But to the discerning eye of Kosciusko, the light which it shed 
was of that sickly and portentous appearance, indicating a storm more dreadful than 
that which he had resisted. 

He prepared to meet it with firmness, but with means entirely inadequate. To the 
advaritages of numbers, of tactics, of discipline, and inexhaustible resources, the 
combined despots had secured a faction in the heart of Poland. And if that country 
can boast of having produced its Washington, it is disgraced also by giving birth to 
a second Arnold. The day at length came which was to decide the fate of a nation 
and a hero. Heaven, for wise purposes, determined that it should be the last of 
Polish liberty. It was decided, indeed, before the battle commenced. 'I'he traitoj 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 53 

Poniski, who covered with a detachment the advance of the Polish army, abandoned 
his position to the enemy, and retreated. 

Kosciusko was astonished, but not dismayed. The disposition of his army would 
have done honor to Hannibal. The succeeding conflict was terrible. When the 
talents of the general could no longer direct the mingled mass of combatants, the arm 
of the warrior was brought to the aid of his soldiers. He performed prodigies of 
valor. The flibled prowess of Ajax, in defending the Grecian ships, was realized by 
the Polish hero. Nor was he badly seconded by his troops. As long as his voice 
could guide, or his example fire their valor, they were irresistible. In this unequal 
contest, Kosciusko was long seen, and finally lost to their view. 

'Hope for a season bade the world farewell. 
And freedom sliriek'd when Kosciusko fell.' 

He fell covered with wounds, but still survived. A Cossack would have pierced 
his breast, when an officer interposed. 'Sufl'er him to execute his purpose,' said the 
bleeding hero, 'I am the devoted soldier of my country, and will not survive its liber- 
ties.' The name of Kosciusko struck to the heart of the Tartar, like that of Marius 
upon the Cimbrian warrior. The uplifted weapon dropped from his hand. 

Kosciusko was conveyed to the dungeons of Petersburgh — and, to the eternal 
disgrace of the empress Catharine, she made him the object of her vengeance, when 
he could no longer be the object of her fears. Her more generous son restored him 
to liberty. The remainder of his life has been spent in virtuous retirement. Whilst 
in this situation in France, an anecdote is related of him which strongly illustrates 
the command which his virtues and his services had obtained over the minds of his 
countrymen. 

In the late invasion of France, some Pohsh regiments, in the service of Russia., 
passed through the village in which he lived. Some pillaging of the inhabitants 
brought Kosciusko from his cottage. ' When I was a Polish soldier,' said he, address- 
ing the plunderers, ' the property of the peaceful citizen was respected.' ' And who 
art thou,' said an officer, 'who addresses us with this tone of authority V ' I am 
Kosciusko.' — There was magic ui the word. It ran from corps to corps. The march 
was suspended. They gathered round him, and gazed, with astonishment and awe, 
upon the mighty ruin he presented. ' Could it indeed be their hero,' whose fame 
was identified with that of their country 1 A thousand interesting reflections burst 
upon their minds ; they remembered his patriotism, his devotion to liberty, his tri- 
umphs, and his glorious fall. Their iron hearts were softened, and the tear of sensi- 
bility trickled down their weather-beaten faces. We can easily conceive, sir, what 
would be the feelings of the hero himself in such a scene. His great heart must have 
heaved with emotion, to find himself once more surrounded by the companions of 
his glory ; and that he would have been upon the point of saying to them : — 

'Behold yonr general, come once more 
To lead you on to laurel'd victory. 
To fame, to freedom.' 

The delusion could have lasted but for a moment. He was himself, alas ! a 
miserable cripple ; and, for them ! they were no longer the soldiers of liberty, but th« 
instruments of ambition and tyranny. Overwhelmed with grief at the reflection, he 
would retire to his cottage, to mourn afresh over the miseries of his country. 

Such was the man, sir, for whose memory I ask from an American congress, a 
slight tribute of respect. Not, sir, to perpetuate his fame — but our gratitude. His 
fame will last as long as liberty remains upon the earth ; as long as a votary ofiTers 
Incense upon her altar, the name of Kosciusko will be invoked. And if, by the common 
consent of the world, a temple shall be erected to those who have rendered most 
service to mankind, if the statue of our great countryman shall occupy the place of 
the 'most worthy,' that of Kosciusko will be found by his side, and the wreath of 
laurel will be entwmed with the palm of virtue to adorn his brow." 

In the House of Representatives, January 22, 
Mr. Harrison, of Ohio, offered the following resolution. 
Resolved, That this house, entertain the highest respect for the memory of general 



54 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

Kosciusko, his services, &c. the members thereof will testify the same by wearing 
crape on the left arm for one month. 

After some debate, Mr. Harrison withdrew his resolution altogether." 

On the above the National Intelligencer remarks : — " The short debate on this 
question is reserved, but shall certainly be given at a future day, in justice to the 
subject. It is enough now to sUte, that the merits of Kosciusko, the advocate of 
freedom, and the friend of man, were fully admitted ; but, it was shown, that no 
such respect as was now proposed had been paid to any of the departed worthies 
native or foreign, who had aided in the achievement of our independence, except in 
the single case of general Washington, which was admitted to be an exception to all 
general rules. Having, as recently as 1810, refused a like tribute to the memory of 
colonel William Washington, on his decease, it was too late now, it was deemed, to 
commence a new system in this respect." 

The above are but a few evidences of general Harrison's zeal, ability, and usefulness 
in the house of representatives, and of his great desire to promote individual happiness, 
and the national honor and welfare. He was ready and eloquent in debate ; and in 
the minor details of duty his conduct was marked by the most exemplary punctuality 
and attention, especially to the interests of his immediate constituents. 

On the 11th of March, 1816, the speaker of the house of representatives of the 
United States laid before that body the following letter from General Harrison, solicit- 
ing an inquiry into the expenditure of pubhc money in the eighth military district, 
while under his command ; which was read and referred to the committee on public 
espenditure. See Niles, vol. x. pp. 43 and 88. 

"North Bend, Ohio, Dec. 20, 1815. 

"Sir — I should apologize for this intrusion upon the time of the house of represent- 
atives, if I considered the subject upon which I address them exclusively of a private 
and personal nature. Although the investigation I solicit is of the utmost importance 
to myself, it will, I conceive, be readily admitted, that both the national honor and 
interest are deeply concerned in the result. My object is to obtain an inquiry into the 
expenditure of public money within the eighth military district, whilst under my com- 
mand, and particularly whatever relates to the supplies of provision by the special 
commissaries of the United States, and under the contract of Messrs. Orr and Greely. 
My reasons for making this application, and the particular claim I conceive myself to 
have upon the indulgence of the house of representatives, are most respectfully sub- 
mitted to them, through you, sir, in the follo^ving statement : — 

Shortly after the adjournment of congress in 1814, I was informed that the honor- 
able Mr. Fisk, the chairman of a committee which had been appointed to inquire into 
some complaints of the army contractors, had declared to one of the western delega- 
tion, that documents had been submitted to that committee which were deeply injurious 
to my public character. I immediately addressed a letter to Mr. Fisk of Vermont, 
demanding an explanation of this declaration. From the answer of this gentleman I 
learned that I had mistaken him for another of the same name, a representative from 
the state of New York, and who was the chairman of the committee alluded to. To 
the latter, at the commencement of the last session of congress, a similar letter was 
sent. In his answer he denied having used the expressions concerning me, which had 
been made to the committee supported by authentic documents, chiefly my own letters, 
all showing a wonderful inconsistency in the orders given to the contractors for sup- 
plying the army with provisions. Being perfectly convinced that these documents 
were very artful mutilations of my letters to the contractors and the secretary of war, 
I transmitted to Mr. Fisk, through the honorable Mr. Hawkins of Kentucky, all the 
original letters and papers in my possession relating to the subject of the supplies I 
had demanded of Orr and Greely. These papers were accompanied by an explanatory 
statement from me, and a request to Mr. Hawkins to bring the affair before congress, 
whould he deem it necessary to the vindication of my character. It was not until very 
late in the session that Mr. Fisk could spare a moment from his public duties to devote 
to ni) affair. In the answer, however, with which he honored me, he was {)leascd to 
tjxpress mujch satisfaction at the information contained in my nwmoir, and to add, that 
'ii the documents (which accompanied it) had been exhibited to the committee of 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-EOOK. 55 

investigation, they woul J, he was persuaded, have made an impression upon the minds 
of that committee dillerent from that produced by the imperfect information which 
was received.' That a committee should have thon.2;ht proper to invcstir^ate the con- 
duct of a general oflicer commanding an army, without his knowinu; it, <Ji>d to sutler 
their minds to receive unfavorable impressions concerniiii^ him, upon the imperfect 
information furnished by his enemies, is, I am persuaded, a novel procedure with the 
representatives of the people, who are the guardians of their rights and privileges. I 
am confident, however, th;)t the committee acted from no previous hostility to me ; 
and I attribute their conduct to inadvertency, produced by the pressure of important 
business at the momentous period of our affairs. It is nevcrtlieless certain, thiit these 
impressions of the committee have been communicated to others, and malice and hatred 
have given them currency in a considerable portion of the union. To resist this tor- 
rent of calumny, I have no alternative but to solicit an investigation. If the granting 
of this favor is beyond the merits of an officer who has spent tlie greatest portion of 
his life in the service of the (lublic, it will be accorded to the claims of the nation, and 
to the vindication of the honor an<l character of the country. The annals of the late 
war will not record the treachery of a second Arnold, but tliey will give to jiosterity 
an instance of military crime scarcely less detestable than that foul blot in our revolu- 
tionary history. If any other officer of high rank and trust can be truly charged 
with a cri)iie so disgraceful as that of speculating upon the funds of his army, it will, 
in the estimation of the world, detract largely from the blaze of renown with which 
the achievements of Brown and Jackson have encircled the nation ; and I humbly 
conceive, that no pains should be spared to ascertain the guilt or iimocence of the 
late war, for the diversion of the public funds to individual purposes would have been 
equally fatal with treason, and merits punishment as severe. For myself, I was well 
aware that the treasury could scarcely answer the weighty demands which were 
made upon it by the military department; and knowing, as I well did, the heroic valor 
of our countrymen, in common with every patriot — I believed that America had no 
cause of alarm but for the inadequacy of her fiscal arrangements, 'i'o some it may 
appear idle to speak of punishing a man for a military crime who no longer holds a 
military commission. The right of the government to do this, however, is in my 
opinion incontrovertible. The principle being as well settled as any other in relation 
to the proceedings and jurisdiction of courts martial, which are derived from the 
'custom of war.' It was the practice of all the ancient republics, and in England, 
from whence we derive our military as well as our civil connnon law ; the precedent 
was established in the case of lord George Sackville, who for alleged misconduct at 
the battle of Minden, was brought before a military tribunal and cashiered long after 
his resignation had been accepted. If in the inquiry I solicit, any thing should ap- 
pear to create a doubt as to the purity of my conduct in the command of the army 
that was entrusted to me, let a court martial decide my fate. I promise most solemnly 
to admit its jurisdiction and abide its decision. 

I make this application to the house of representatives with the fullest confidence 
that it will not be rejected : It is the only reward I claim for a long course of laborious 
and faithful service. The greater the latitude which is given to the inquiry, the 
better shall I like it: and I most respectfully request that it may embrace the follow- 
ing points: Whether any supplies were ever demanded by me of the contractors, Orr 
and Greely. vvhich were not called for by the state of the army, and warranted by the 
conditions of their contract : Whether any injustice was done to the said Orr and 
Greely, by any order given by me to the purchasing or special commissaries of the 
army: Whether there is reason to believe that any sentiment of hostility existed in 
my mind towards the said contractors, and which operated injuriously to their inter- 
ests, either by forcing them to do what was unnecessary, or withholding from them 
any thing that they had a right to claim : Whether there is any reason to believe that 
any connection (other than that which the relations of our commissions necessarily 
produced) existed between myself and any of the stafl" officers of the army ; and 
generally whatever relates to the expenditure of public money for the support of the 
north-western army, as far as I may have been concerned. 

These points will embrace every thing that any but a military tribunal is competent 
to decide. The inquiry will, I trust, produce a perfect conviction that the measures 



56 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

•^rhich were adopted, were those alone by which the subsistence of the army coulA 
have been maintained. 

I have forwarded to the representatives of the district in which I live, a number of 
original documents with an explanatory statement, these, together with the testimony 
of colonel Morrison, late quarter-master-gcneral, and Mr. Piatt, late purchasing commis- 
sar}', both of whom will be at the seat of government, will furnish every information 
necessary to my vindication. With the highest consideration, I have the honor to be, 
sir, your humble servant, 

Wm. Hexrt Harrison, 
Late major-general in the United States army. 

The honorable the speaJter of the house of representatives. 

On the 29th of April the whole subject was referred to the secretary of war, with 
directions to report thereon at the next session. 

At the next session, the secretary of war made a report, which was referred to a 
select committee, at the head of which was colonel Richard M. Johnson, the present 
vice-president of the United States. On the 22d of January, 1817, the committee 
made the following report. See Niles, vol, xi. p. 396. 

" The select committee of the house of representatives, to whom was referred 
the letter and documents from the acting secretary of war, on the subject of general 
Harrison's letter, ask leave to Report — That they have investigated the facts involved 
in this inquiry, by the examination of documents, and a great number of most re- 
spectable witnesses, personally acquainted with the transactions from which the 
inquiry originated. And the committee are unanimously of opinion, that general 
Harrison stands above suspicion, as to his having any pecuniary or improper connec- 
tion with the officers of the commissariat for the supply of the army ; that he did not 
wantonly or improperly interfere with the rights of the contractors, and that he was, 
in his measures, governed by the proper zeal and devotion to the public interest. 

The committee beg leave to be discharged from the further consideration of the 
subject ; and as the papers refer in part to the conduct and transactions of the con- 
tractors of the north-western army, where accounts are unsettled, and only incident- 
ally involved in this inquiry, that the papers be transmitted to the department of 
war. 

After the report was read, Mr. Huibert said, that having the honor to be one of 
the committee who made the report which was then before the house, he felt it his 
duty to make a few remarks upon it. 

The committee, he said, considered the subject an important one. It was in- 
teresting to the public, and highly and especially so to general Harrison, The cha- 
racter of that gentleman had been impeached. They, therefore, determined to make 
the investigation as full and thorough as should be in their power. With such views 
and sentiments they entered upon the inquiry. They had notified a gentleman who 
had made charges in writing against the general, and requested his attendance upon 
the committee, and he had more than once attended. They had read and considered 
all the documents and papers which they could obtain, and which they thought calcu- 
lated to throw light on the inquiry, and had examined many respectable witnesses, 
and the investigation had resulted in a firm belief, and a unanimous opinion of the 
committee, that the insinuations and complaints which had been made against general 
Harrison, and which were the foundation of his application to congress, were unmerit- 
ed, groundless, and unjust. 

Mi Hulbert said it gave him pleasure to make these declarations. He considered him- 
self doing an act of justice to an injured individual. He said he must acknowledge, that 
he had entertained impressions very unfavorable to the general. The complaints, 
which had been made against him, had spread far and wide. The bane and antidote 
had not gone together. He rejoiced that this inquiry had been made, and he had no 
hesitation in saying, that, so far as the report of the committee should defend, before 
the public, the conduct and character of general Harrison, it would promote the cause 
of trutli and justice. 

Mr. Hulbert said, that the general had been charged with unjust and oppressive 
conduct, in relation to the contractors in the army under his command. He said he 
was entirely satisfied that the general had interfered only in those cases, where he 



• 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 57 

thought his duty to the public imperiously required it. In saying this, he meant to 
•cast no imputation upon the contractors ; he spoke only of what he beUeved to be the 
motives of general Harrison. 

The most serious accusation against the general was, that, while he was command- 
er-in-chief in the west, regardless of his country's good, he was in the habit of man- 
aging the public concerns with a view to his own private interest and emolument. — 
Mr. Hulbert said he could not refrain from pronouncing this a false and cruel accusa- 
tion. He was confident that directly the reverse was true. There was the most satis- 
factory evidence, that the general, in the exercise of his official duties, in his devotion 
to the public interest, had neglected his private concerns, to his material detriment and 
injury. In a word, said Mr. Hulbert, I feel myself authorized to say, tliat every 
member of the committee is fully satisfied, that the conduct of general Harrison, in 
relation to the subject matter of this inquiry, has been that of a brave, honest, and 
honorable man ; that, instead of deserving censure, he merits the thanks and applause 
of his country." 

The committee was discharged from the further consideration of the subject, and 
the papers transmitted to the war department. 

The enemies of general Harrison's fame have endeavoured to pervert the proceed- 
ings in the senate in 1816, in relation to the proposition to present him with a gold 
medal and the thanks of congress, and thus to create an impression that he was 
deemed unworthy of such a distinguished honor. The following is a faithful 
account of the proceedings. 

In Niles, vol. x. p. 125, will be found the following among the proceedings of the 
senate, on the 13th of April, 1816. 

" The senate resumed the consideration of the joint resolution directing medals t9 
be struck, and, together with the thanks of congress, presented to major-general 
Harrison and governor Shelby, and for other purposes. 

After some discussion on the expediency of adopting such a resolution at this time, 
and of coupUng the name of general Harrison and governor Shelby — 

Mr. LACOCK moved to amend the resolution by striking therefrom ' majo--general 
William Henry Harrison.' 

This motion was determined in the affirmative by the following vote : 

Yeas — Messrs. Dana, Gaillard, Gore, Hunter, King, LACOCK, Mason, N. H. Ro- 
berts, Tait, Thompson, Tichenor, Turner, Varnum — 13. 

Nays — Barbour, Barry, Condict, Horsey, Macon, Morrow, Ruggles, Talbot, Wells, 
Williams— 11. 

The further consideration of the subject was then postponed to a day in next week, 
on motion of Mr. Roberts," 

On the 20th of the same month, Niles, vol. x. p. 151, " The senate resumed the 
consideration of the resolution for presenting medals and the thanks of congress to 
major-general Harrison and governor Shelby. On the question to concur in the 
previous decision to strike out the name of major-general William Henry Harrison, 
it was decided in the negative, as follows : 

Ye«s— Messrs. Campljell, Daggett, Gaillard, Gore, King, LACOCK, Mason, N.H. 
Mason, Va. Roberts, Tait, Tichenor, Turner, Varnum — 13. 

Na)/s — Messrs. Barbour, Barry, Chace, Condict, Harper, Horsey, Macon, Morrow, 
Ruggles, Sanford, Talbot, Wells, Williams, Wilson— 14. 

The resolution was then, on Eiotion of Mr. Horsey, recommitted to the military 
committee," 

When governor Shelby heard of the effort in the senate to strike out general 
Harrison's name, he wrote to his old commander, under date of May 16th, 1816, as 
follows ; " Don't let the conduct of the senate disturb your mind. I hope their resolu- 
tisn has been laid over as to both of us. The moment I heard of the course it was 
like to take, I wrote instantly to Mr. Clay, and expressed my regret that it had been 
introduced, and how mortified I should feel to be noticed, if you were not included 
who had rendered ten times more service to the nation than . had," 



ft 



58 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

The military committee did not report on the subject at that session; but at the next 
session, on the 24th of March, 1818, (Nilps, vol. xiv, p. 185,) Mr. Dickerson, of 
the United States senate, formerly c^ovornor of New Jersey, and recently secretary of 
the navy, a man of the purest patriotism, and the most honorable character, agreeably 
to notice jriven on the j)revious day, asked leave to introduce a resolution olVering 
the thanks of coiii;rcss to tniijor-ijeiieral Wm. Henry Harrison and Is;iac Shelliy, 
late governor of Kentucky, for their distinguished bravery and good conduct in cap- 
turing the British army, under the command of major-general Proctor, at the battle 
of the Thames, in Upper Canada, on the 5th of October, 1813. 

I should not, said. Mr. Dickerson, at this late day, highly as I think of the merits 
of those officers who, in co-operation with the hero of Lake Erie, turned the tide of 
war in our favor, bring forward the present resolution, if no similar attempt haii 
heretofore been made in their favor, but would leave their fame to rest upon the testi- 
mony of impartial history, which has already done ample justice to their characters. 

Two years ago, a resolution like the present, was reported to this house by the 
chairman of the committee on military affairs, by direction of that committee. This 
resolution was opposed on two grounds, applying solely to general Harrison, as I 
have been informed (for I had not then the honor of being a member of this body) — 
the first, that an inquiry was at that time depending before the house of representa- 
tives, into the official conduct of general Harrison, as commander-in-chief of the 
north-western army, upon charges which, if well founded, were calculated essenti- 
ally to injure his character; the second, that a rumor prevailed, that general Harrison 
had discovered some reluctance in pursuing Proctor and his army, after Perry's victory 
on Lake Erie, and that he had been forced to the pursuit by the remonstrances of go- 
vernor Shelby, and that this information had been derived from the declarations of 
governor Shelby. These charges, utterly unfounded, as they turned out to be, were 
deemed a sufficient reason for postponing a decision of the report of the committee, 
until the result of the inquiry before the house of representatives should at least be 
known. The resolution, after some discussion, was referred to the committee who 
reported it, further to consider and report thereon. As the session was near to its 
close, no further report was made, and indeed no further report could with propriety 
have been made, until the investigation before the house of representatives should he 
brought to a termination. This did not happen till the 23d of January, 1817, a little 
more than a month before the termination of a very important session, when the 
public business of the most pressing kind required the entire attention of congress, 
6o that this subject could not with propriety have been renewed until the present 

session. 

As the friends of general Harrison have in their power completely to obviate every 
objection heretofore made to the passage of this resolution, it is their duty to bring 
this subject again before congress, more especially as the journals of this house, if 
left unexplained, imply a censure upon the conduct of general Harrison, which cer- 
tainly was never intended. I will confess, for one, from a perusal of the journals of 
tliis house, the military reputation of general Harrison, sunk in my estimation : and I 
believe this confession might be made by three-fourths of the citizens of the United 
States, who read the proceedings of congress, and who had not an intimate know- 
ledge of the character and conduct of general Harrison. I should reproach myself 
for^aving suffered such an impression to be made upon my mind if the means of 
correcting it had also been found upon our journals ; those journals did not then afford 
the means of correct information upon this subject, nor do they till this day. 

As to the first objection, that an investigation was depending in the house of repre- 
sentatives, into the official conduct of general Harrison, the result of that investigation 
was in the highest degree honorable to his character. The committee to whom the 
subject was referred, were unanimously of opinion that general Harrison stood above 
suspicion of being implicated in the charges exhibited agaii;st him, and that in his 
whole conduct as commander-in-chief of the north-western army, he was governed by 
a laudable zeal for, and devotion to, the public service and interest. 

The second objection made to the passage of the resolution, if well founded, was 
calculated to give to governor Shelby the entire and exclusive merit of having urged 
the pursuit of Proctor and his army. But Shelby, generous as he is brave, disclaims 
this exclusive merit, m a letter which I will beg leave to read, denies in the most posi- 



•9? 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 59 

tive terms having used the language ascribed to him, and he gives to general Harrison 
the highest praise for his promptitude and vigilance in pursuing Proctor ; for the skill 
with which he arranged his troops for meeting the enemy, and for his distinguished 
bravery during the battle. He states that the duties of general Harrison, as command- 
er-in-chief of the north-western army, were in the highest degree arduous ; but that, 
from the zeal and fidelity with which they were performed, they could not have been 
committed to better hands. Of these particulars no one could know better, no one 
could judge better, than governor Shelby. I have many other documents and papers 
to show that governor Shelby was not mistaken in the statements which he has 
made, which I will read if any doubt shall be expressed upon this subject. I trust, 
however, that no such doubt will be entertained, and am confident that honorable 
gentlemen will now, upon a full knowledge of the facts, feel a pleasure in awarding to 
general Harrison that testimony of applause which a sense of duty induced them for- 
merly to withhold. 

I shall not pronounce any encomiums upon the galiantry of the venerable patriot, 
the intrepid hero, governor Shelby. His distinguished services during the late war, as 
well as those of the revolution, will be remembered to the latest posterity — of him and 
the brave officers and men who, under the command of general Harrison, achieved 
the glorious victory at the battle of the Thames, one sentiment pervades the union, 
that they merit every mark of distinction which congress, and a grateful country can 
bestow. 

Mr. Dickerson then offered the following resolution : 

Resolved, by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of 
America, in congress assembled, That the thanks of congress be, and they are hereby 
presented to major-general William Henry Harrison, and Isaac Shelby, late governor 
of Kentucky, and through them to the officers and men under their command, for 
their gallantry and good conduct in defeating the combined British and Indian forces, 
under major-general Proctor, on the Thames, in Upper Canada, on the fifth day of 
October, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, capturing the entire British army, 
with their baggage, camp equipage, and artillery ; and that the president of the United 
States be requested to cause two gold medals to be struck, emblematical of this 
triumph, and presented to general Harrison, and Isaac Shelby, late governor of Ken- 
tucky. 

The resolution was modified, by striking out the word " entire," in the seventh line, 
ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, and was subsequently passed by the unani- 
mous vote of the senate. 

On the 30th of March, this joint resolution was sent to the house of representatives, 
(Niles, vol. xiv. p. 103,) read three times, and passed, "with one dissenting voice ;" 
and on the 4th of April, it received the approval of the president. It is inserted in 
Niles, vol. xiv. p. 208, signed according to law. 

The medal is about two inches in diameter ; on the face is a bust of general Har- 
rison, encircled with the words ^^Major-General William H. Harrison." On the 
reverse, a female figure, with a spear in her right hand, is in the act of placing with 
her left, a laurel crown upon some mihtary trophies, from which is suspended a 
scroll, bearing the words, " Fort Meigs, Battle of the Thames." It is beautifully 
executed, and the material is of the finest gold. 



CHAPTER Vm. 

6EV£IIA^L HAHHISON DECLINES A HE-EEECTIOW TO CONGRESS ELECTED TO THE 

STATE SENATE OF OHIO FALSE CHARGE AGAINST HIM ABOUT "SELLING DEBTORS 

IN CERTAIN cases" APPOINTED MINISTER TO COLOMBIA RECALLED HY GENE- 
RAL JACKSON HIS LETTER TO BOLIVAR. 

General Harrison declined a re-election to congress ; but yielding to the solicitations 
of his friends, he consented to become a candidate for a seat in the state senate of 
Ohio, to which he was elected in the fall of 1819. In that body he renderetl import 



60 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

ant sp.iTices to the state; but his conduct as a state senator gave rise to one absurd 
charge, which cannot be better explained and refuted, than by inserting the following 
letter from him in reply to the editor of the "Hamilton, (Butler co. Ohio) Intelli- 
gencer," in which paper it first appeared. 

"North Bend, 2'2d December, 1821. 
Sin — In your paper of the 15th instant, I observed a most violent attack upon 
eleven other members of the late senate and myself, for a supposed vote given at the 
last session for the passage of a law to ' sell debtors in certain cases.' If such had 
been our conduct, I acknowledge that we should not only deserve the censure which 
the writer has bestowed on us, but the execration of every honest man in society. 
An act of this kind is not only opposed to the principles of justice and humanity, 
but would be a palpable violation of the constitution of the state, which every legis- 
lator is sworn to support ; and sanctioned by a house of representatives and twelve 
senators, it would indicate a state of depravity which would till every patriotic bosom 
with the most alarming anticipations. But the fact is, that no such proposition was 
ever made in the legislature or even thought of. The act to which the writer 
alludes, has no more relation to the collection of ' debts,' than it has to the discovery 
of longitude. It was an act for the punishment of offences against the state, and that 
part of it which has so deeply wounded the feelings of your correspondent, was 
passed by the house of representatives, and voted for by the twelve senators, under the 
impression that it was the most mild and humane mode of dealing with the offenders 
for whose cases it was intended. It was adopted by the house of representatives as a 
part of the general system of criminal law, which was then undergoing a complete 
revision and amendment; the necessity of this is evinced by the following facts: 
for several years past, it had become apparent that the Penitentiary system was becom- 
ing more and more burdensome at every session ; a large appropriation was called for 
to meet the excess of expenditure, above the receipts of the establishment. In the com- 
mencement of the session of 1820, the deficit amounted to near twenty thousand dollars. 
This growing evil required the immediate interposition of some vigorous legislative 
measure ; two were recommended as being likely to produce the effect; first, placine; 
the institution under better management; and secondly, lessening the number of con- 
victs who were sentenced for short periods, and whose labour was found of course to 
be most unproductive. In pursuance of the latter principle, thefts to the aiaiount of 
fifty dollars, or upwards, were subjected to punishment in the Penhentiary, instead of 
ten dollars, which was the former minimum sum; this was easily done. But the 
great difficulty remained to determine what should be the punishment of those nu- 
merous larcenies below the sum of fifty dollars. By some, whipping was proposed, 
by others, punishment by hard labor in the county jails, and by others, it was thought 
best to make them work on the highways. 

To all these there appeared insuperable objections : fine and imprisonment VFas 
adopted by the house of representatives, as the only alternative ; and as it was well 
known that these vexatious pilfering!" were generally perpetrated by the most worthless 
vagabonds in society, it was added that when they could not pay the fines and costs, 
which are always part of the sentence and punishment, their services should be sold 
out to any person who would pay their fines and costs for them. This was the 
clause which was passed, as I believe, by a unanimous vote of the house, and stricken 
out in the senate, in o^iposition to the twelve who have been denominated. A little 
further trouble in examining the journals, would have shown your correspondent that 
this was considered as a substitute for whipping, which was lost in the senate, and in 
the house by a small majority, after being once passed. 

I thiid;, Mr. Editor, I have said enough to show that this obnoxious law would not 
have a[)plicd to 'unfortunate debtors of sixty-four years,' but to infamous offenders, 
who depreJate upon the property of their fellow-citizens, and who, by the constitution 
of the state, as well as the principle of existing laws, were subject to involuntary ser- 
vitude. I must confess I had no very sanguine expectations of beneficial effects from 
this measure, as it would apply to convicts who had attained the age of maturity. 
But I had supposed that a woman or a youth, who was convictcnl of an offence, and 
remained in jail for the payment of the fine and costs imposed, might with great 
advantage be transferred to the residence of some decent, virtuous, private family, 
whote preceot and example would greatly lead them bacJk to the paths of virtue. I 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 61 

would appeal to the candor of your corrpspondcnt to say whether if there were an 
individual confined under the circumstances I have mentioned, for whose fate he was 
interested, he would not gladly see him transferred, from the filthy enclosure of a 
jail, and the still more filthy inhabitants, to the comfortable mansion of some virtuous 
citizen, whose admonition would check his vicious propensities, and whose authority 
over him, would be no more than is exercised over thousands of ajjprentices in our 
country, and those bound servants, which are tolerated in our, as well as in every 
other state in the Union. Far from advocating the aboniinabh; principles attributed 
to me by your correspondent, I think that imprisonment for debt, under any circum- 
stances but those where fraud is alleged, is at war with the best principles of our 
constitution, and ought to be abolished. I am, sir, your humble servant, 

(Signed) Wm. Henry HAnnisoy." 

" In the autumn of 1822, general Harrison, being a candidate for congress, publish- 
ed a short address to the voters of his district, in which he sums up his political prin- 
ciples. We subjoin a portion of it,* breathing the pure spirit of sound republicanism. 

' I believe, that upon the preservation of the union of the states depends the exist- 
ence of our civil and rehgious liberties ; and that the cement which binds it together 
is not a parcel of words, written upon paper or parchments, but the brotherly love 
and ri-gard which the citizens of the several states possess for each other. Destroy 
this, and the beautiful fabric which was reared and embellished by our ancestors 
crumbles into ruins. From its disjointed parts no temple of liberty will again 
be reared. Discord and wars will succeed to peace and harmony — barbarism 
will again overspread the land ; or, what is scarcely better, some kindly tyrant 
will promulgate the decrees of his will, from the seat where a Washington and 
a Jeflerson dispensed the blessings of a free and equal government. I believe it 
tlierefore, to be the duty of a representative to conciliate, by every possible means, the 
members of our great political family, and always to bear in mind that as the union 
was effected only by a spirit of mutual coiicession and forbearance, so only can it 
be prtservedJ 

In the year 1834, the legislature of Ohio elected general Harrison to the senate of 
the United States, in which body, soon after taking his seat, he succeeded general 
Jackson as chairman of the committee on military aflairs. While a member of that 
body, among other measures, he strongly advocated a bill giving a preference, in the 
appointment of cadets to the military academy at West Point, to the sons of those 
who had fallen in battle, in their country's service. 

While in the senate, John Randolph, of Virginia, took occasion to renew an old 
charge against general Harrison, of his having been a black-cockade federalist of '98, 
and of having voted for the alien and sedition laws of that period. As soon as Mr. 
Randolph had taken his seat, general Harrison rose, and with remarkable coolness and 
temper, considering the virulent and unprovoked character of the attack, he observed: 
' that the extraordinary manner in which his name had been brought before the 
senate, by the senator from Virginia, probably required some notice from him, though 
he scarcely knew how to treat such a charge as had been advanced against him 
seriously. _ The gentleman had charged him with being a black-cockade federalist of 
'98, and with having voted for the standing army and the alien and sedition laws. He 
had not so fertile a memory as the gentleman from Virginia, nor could he at command 
call up all the transactions of nearly thirty years ago. He could say, however, that at 
the time alluded to, he was not a party man in the sense the senator from Virginia 
used. He was a delegate of a territory which was just then rising into importance, 
and having no vote on the general questions before congress, it was neither his duty 
nor the interest of those whom he represented to plunge into the turbulent sea of 
general politics which then agitated the nation. There were questions of great im- 
portance to the north-western territory before congress, questions upon the proper 
settlement of which, the future prosperity of that now important portion of the Union 
greatly depended. Standing as he did, the sole representative of that territory, his great- 
est ambition was to prove himself faithful to his trust, by cherishing its interests, ana 
nothing could have been more suicidal or pernicious to those he represented, than foi 

♦ Sketches, &c. 
F 



62 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

lum to exasjierate either party by becoming a violent partisan, without the power of 
aiding either party, because he had no vote on any political question. This was his 
position, and although he had his political principles as firmly fixed as those of the 
gentleman from Virginia, it was no business of his to strike where he could not be 
felt, and where the blow must recoil upon himself and those whom he represented. 
He wore no cockade, black or tri-colored, at that day — and never wore one but when 
he was in the military service of his country. But he was seriously charged with 
the heinous offence of association with federal gentlemen. He plead guilty — he 
respected the revolutionary services of president Adams, and had paid him that cour- 
tesy which was due to him as a man and as chief magistrate. He also associated 
with such men as John Marshall and James A. Bayard — was the acknowledgment 
of such guilt to throw him out of the pale of political salvation 1 

On the other hand he was on intimate terms with Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Gallatin, and 
with the whole Virginia delegation, among whom he had many kinsmen and dear 
friends. They were his principal associates in Philadelphia, in whose mess he had 
often met the gentleman who was now his accuser, and with whom he had spent 
some of the happiest hours of his life. It was true, as the senator had alleged, he had 
been appointed governor of the north-western territory by John Adams — so had he been 
by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He was not in congress when the standing 
army was created, and the alien and sedition laws were passetl, and if he had b^feen, he 
could not have voted for them, and would not if he could. It was not in his nature 
to be a violent or proscriptive partisan, but he had given a firm support to the repub- 
lican administrations of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. He hoped the senator from 
Virginia was answered — he was sure the senate must be wearied with this frivolous 
and unprofitable squabble.' " 

In the latter part of the year 1828, general Harrison was appointed minister 
plenipotentiary to the republic of Colombia, and sailed on his mission the 10th of 
November, from New York, in the United States ship Erie, He arrived at Bogota 
on the 5th of February, 1829, and presented his credentials on the 27th, and was 
received in the most flattering manner. Niles, vol. xxxv. p. 181, and vol. xxxvi. p. 121. 

Theofficialgovernmentjoumal,atBogota, (Niles, vol. xxxvi. p. 1.34,) on announcing 
his arrival, said : — " We congratulate Colombia on beholding the interest which is 
manifested by the government of the United States, to cultivate the friendly relations 
with this republic, by sending among us so distinguished a citizen as general Harrison. 
The government has full confidence that his permanent residence in this capital, 
will contribute generally to strengthen the harmony and good understanding which 
happily exist between the two nations." 

General Jackson was inaugurated president of the United States on the 4th of 
March, 1829, and on the 8th of that month, or thirty-mie days after general Harrison 
reached Bogota, he was recalled; and Thomas P. Moore, of Kentucky, appointed his 
successor. 

The above facts are a sufficient refutation of the charge, that he was recalled in 
consequence of his interference in the political affairs of Colombia ; for the govern- 
ment of the United States could not have been ofBcially informed of his arrival at 
Bogota at the time the appointment was conferred upon Mr. Moore : and it will, also, 
be seen that general Harrison's celebrated letter to Bolivar, inserted in subsequent 
pages, tvas written more than six m^mths after Mr. Moore's appointment, and 
not delivered to Bolivar until general Harrison's official duties had to-minated — for 
Mr. Moore arrived at Bogota in September, and was presented on the 26th of that 
month, on which day general Harrison had his audience of leave ; and on the next 
day, when general Harrison was a private citizen, the letter was written. Bolivar 
was absent when general Harrison took his leave ; but it is evident, from the follow- 
ing extract from the address of the council, that the most friendly relations existed 
between him and the government, at the time of his departure, and that it had no 
cause to complain of his private or official conduct 

" In expressing to you, sir, the sentiments of this council towards your govern- 
ment, it is agreeable to me to declare, that the hopes formed by Colombia, when the 
appointment was announced of so distinguished a general, and one of the most emi- 
nent citizens of the oldest republic of America, had been realized by your residence 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 6S 

in this capital, as envoi/ extraordinary and minister pknipofentiari/ near this 
government ; and therefore it is highly satistactery to me to show the high esteem 
which your personal qualities have inspired." 

The following is his letter to Bolivar, which has commanded general admiration by 
the beauty and energy of its style, and the sound and patriotic admonitions which mark 
every sentence. It is, indeed, a most eloquent appeal to the best and most noble feel- 
ings of our nature, and alone should win for the author the respect and admiration of 
every lover of civil liberty. 

"Bognta, 27th September, \fi29. 

" Sin — If there is any thing in the style, the matter, or the object of this letter, which 
is calculated to give offence to your excellency, I am persuaded you will readily forgive 
it, when you reflect on the motives which induced me to write it. An old soldier 
could possess no feelings but those of the kindest character towards one who has shed 
so much lustre on the profession of arms; nor can a citizen of the country of Wash- 
ington cease to wish that, in Bolivar, the world might behold another instance of the 
highest military attainments, united with the purest patriotism, and the greatest capa- 
city for civil government. 

Such, sir, have been the fond hopes, not only of the people of the United States, 
but of the friends of liberty throughout the world. I will not say that your excellency 
has formed projects to defeat these hopes. But there is no doubt that they have not 
only been formed, but are, at this moment, in progress to maturity, and openly avowed 
by those who jiosscss your entire confidence. I will not attribute to these men impure 
motives; but can they be disinterested advisers ? Are they not the very persons who 
will gain most by the proposed change! — who will, indeed, gain all that is to be 
gained, without furnishing any part of the equivalent 1 That that, the price of their 
future wealth and honors, is to be furnished exclusively by yourself! And of what 
does it consist 1 Your great character. Such a one, th,.t, if a man were wise, and 
possessed of the empire of the Caesars, in its best days, he would give all to obtain. 
Are you prepared to make this sacrifice for such an object ] 

I am persuaded that those who advocate these measures have never dared to induce 
you to adopt them, by any argument founded on your personal interests ; and that, to 
succeed, it would be necessary to convince you that no other course remained to save 
the country from the evils of anarchy. This is the question, then, to be examined. 

Does the history of this country, since the adoption of the constitution, really exhi- 
bit unequivocal evidence that the people are unfit to be free] Is the exploded opinion 
of a European philosopher, of the last age, that " in the new hemisphere man is a 
degraded being," to be renewed, and supported by the example of Colombia 1 The proofs 
should, indeed, be strong, to induce an American to adopt an opinion so humiliating. 

Feeling always a deep interest in the success of the revolutions in the late Spanish 
America, I have never been an inattentive observer of events, pending and posterior 
to the achievement of its independence. In these events, I search in vain for a single 
fact to show that, in Colombia at least, the state of society is unsuited to the adoption 
of a free government. Will it be said that a free government did exist, but, being 
found inadequate to the objects for which it had been instituted, it has been superseded 
by one of a diflerent character, with the concurrence of a majority of the people ! 

It is the most difficult thing in the world for me to believe that a people in the pos- 
session of their rights as freemen, would ever be willing to surrender them, and submit 
themselves to the will of a master. If any such instances are on record, the power 
thus transferred has been in a moment of extreme public danger, and then limited to 
a. very short period. I do not think that it is by any means certain, that the majority 
of the French people favored the elevation of Napoleon to the throne of France. 
But, if it were so, how different were the circumstances of that country from those of 
Colombia, when the constitution of Cucuta was overthrown ! At the period of the 
elevation of Napoleon to the first consulate, all the powers of Europe were the open 
or secret enemies of France ; civil war raged within her borders ; the hereditary king 
pofsessed many partisans in every province ; the people, continually betrayed by the 
factions which murdered and succeeded each other, had imbibed a portion of thei" 
ferocity, and every town and village witnessed the indiscriminate slaughter of bottj 
men and women, of all parties and principles. Does the history of Colombia, sine* 



(51 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

the expulsion of the Spaniards, present any parallel to these scenes? Her frontiers 
have hccn never seriously nienacetl ; no civil war rageil ; not a partisan of the former 
goveri/nient was to be found in the whole extent of her territory ; no factions contended 
with each otlier for the possession of power; the executive 2;ovcrninent remained in 
the hands of those to whom it had been committed by the people, in a fair election. 
In fact, no people ever passed from under the yoke of a despotic government, to the 
enjoyment of entire freedom, witii less disposition to abuse their newly-acquired power, 
than those of Colombia. They submitted, indeed, to a continuance of some of the 
juost arbitrary and unjust features which distinguished the former government. If 
there was any disposition, on the part of the great mass of the people, to effect any 
change in the existing order of things; if the Colombians act from the same motives 
and upon the same principles which govern mankind elsewhere, and in all ages, they 
would have desired to take from the government a part of the power which, in their 
inexperience, they had confided to it. The monopoly of certain articles of agricultural 
produce, and the oppressive duty of the Alcavala, might have been tolerated, until the 
last of their tyrants were driven from the country. But when peace was restored, 
when not one enemy remained within its borders, it might reasonably have been sup- 
posed that the people would have desired to abolish these remains of arbitrary govern- 
ment, and substitute for them some tax more equal and accordant with republican 
principles. 

On the contrary, it is pretended that they had become enamoured with these despotic 
measures, and so disgusted with the freedom they did enjoy, that they were more than 
willing to commit their destinies to the uncontrolled will of your excellency. Let me 
assure you, sir, that these assertions will gain no credit with the present generation, 
or with posterity. They will demand the facts which had induced a people, by no 
means deficient in intelligence, so soon to abandon the principles for which they had 
so gallantly fought, and tamely surrender that liberty which had been obtained at the 
expense of so much blood. And what facts can be produced 1 It cannot be said that 
life and property were not as well protected under the republican government as they 
have ever been ; nor that there existed any opposition to the constitution and laws, 
too strong for the ordinary powers of the government to put down. 

If the insurrection of general Paez, in Venezuela, is adduced, I would ask, by what 
means was he reduced to obedience 1 Your excellency, the legitimate head of the 
repubhc, appeared, and, in a moment, all opposition ceased, and Venezuela was restored 
to the republic. But it is said that this was effected by your personal influence, or 
the dread of your military talents; and that, to keep general Paez, and other ambitious 
chiefs, from dismembering the republic, it was necessary to invest your excellency 
with the extraordinary powers you possess. There would be some reason in this, if 
you had refused to act without these powers ; or, having acted as you did, you had 
been unable to accomplish any thing without them. But you succeeded completely, 
and there can be no possible reason assigned why you would not have succeeded, with 
the same means, against any future attempt of general Paez. or any other general. 

There appears, however, to be one sentiment in which all parties unite ; that is, 
that, as matters now stand, you alone can save the country from ruin, at least, from 
much calamity. They differ, however, very widely, as to the measures to be taken to 
j)Ut your excellency in the way to render this iinportant service. The lesser, and 
more interested party, is for placing the government in your hands for life; either with 
your present title, or with one which, it must he confessed, belter accords with the 
nature of the powers to be exercised. If they adopt the less offensive title, and if they 
weave into their system some apparent checks to your will, it is only for the purpose 
of masking, in some degree, their real object, which is nothing short of the establish- 
ment of a despotism. The plea of necessity, that eternal argument of all conspirators, 
ancient or modern, against the rights of mankind, will be resorted to, to induce you to 
accede to their measures ; and the unsettled state of the country, which has been 
designedly produced by them, will be adduced as evidence of tliat necessity. 

There is but one way for your excellency to escajje from the snares which have 
been no artfully laid to entrap you, and that is, to slop short in the course which, 
nnforuniately, has been already commenced. Every step you advance, under the 
influence of such counsels, will make retreat more difficult, until it will become imprac- 
ucable. You will be told that the intention is only to vest you with authority to 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 65 

correct what is wrong in the administration, and to put down the factions, and that, 
when itie country once enjoys tranquillity, the government may be restored to the 
people. Delusive will be the hopes of those who rely upon this declaration. The 
promised hour of tranquillity will never arrive. If events tended to produce it, they 
would be counteracted by the government itself. It was the strong remark of a former 
president of the United States, that, ' Sooner will the lover be contented with the first 
smiles of his mistress, than a government cease to endeavour to preserve and extend 
its powers.' With whatever reluctance your excellency may commence the career; 
with whatever disposition to abandon it, when the objects for which it v/as commenced 
have been obtained ; when once fairly entered, you will be borne along by the irre- 
sistible force of pride, habit of command, and, indeed, of self-preservation, and it will 
be impossible to recede. 

But it is said that it is for the benefit of the people that the proposed change is to 
be made ; and that by your talents and influence alone, aided by unlimited power, the 
ambitious chiefs in the dilferent departments are to be restrained, and the integrity of 
the republic preserved. I have said, and I most sincerely beheve, that, from the state 
into which the country has been brought, that you alone can preserve it from the 
horrors of anarchy. But I cannot conceive that any extraordinary powers are neces- 
sary. The authority to see that the laws are executed ; to call out the strength of the 
country to enforce their execution, is all that is required, and is what is possessed by 
the chief magistrate of the United States, and of every other republic ; and is what 
was confided to the executive, by the constitution of Cucuta. Would your talents or 
your energies be impaired in the council, or the field, or your influence lessened, when 
acting as the head of a republic 1 

I propose to examine, very briefly, the results which are likely to flow from the 
proposed change of government : First, in relation to the country ; and, secondly, to 
yourself, personally. Is the tranquillity of the country to be secured by it? Is it 
possible for your excellency to beheve, that when the mask has been thrown off, and 
the people discover that a despotic government has been fixed upon them, that they 
will quietly submit to it T Will they forget the pass-word, which, like the cross of 
fire, was the signal for rallying to oppose their former tyrants'? Will the virgins, at 
your bidding, cease to chant the songs of liberty which so lately animated the youth 
to victory ! Was the patriotic blood of Colombia all expended in the fields of Vargas, 
Bayaca, and Carebobo 1 The schools may cease to enforce upon their pupils the love 
of country, drawn from the examples of Cato and the Bruti, Harmodius and Aristogi- 
ton ; but the glorious example of patriotic devotion, exhibited in your own Hacienda, 
will supply their place. Depend on it, sir, that the moment which shall announce 
the continuance of arbitrary power in your hands, will be the commencement of com- 
motions which will require all your talents and energies to suppress. You may suc- 
ceed. The disciplined army, at your disposal, may be too powerful for an unarmed, 
undisciplined, and scattered population ; but one unsuccessful efiort will not content 
them, and your feelings will be eternally racked by being obliged to make war upon 
those who have been accustomed to call you their father, and to invoke blessings on 
your head, and for no cause but their adherence to principles which you yourself had 
taught them to regard more than their hves. 

If, by the strong government which the advocates for the proposed change so stre- 
nuously recommend, one without responsibility is intended, which may put men to 
death, and immure them in dungeons, without trial, and one where the army is eveiy 
thing, and the people nothing, I must say, that, if the tranquillity of Colombia is to be 
preserved in this way, the wildest anarchy would be preferable. Out of that anarchy 
a better government might arise ; but the chains of military despotism once fastened 
upon a nation, ages might pass away before they could be shaken ofl'. 

But I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free. We 
consider that of the United States as the strongest, precisely because it is the most 
free. It possesses the faculties equally to protect itself from foreign force or internal 
convulsion. In both it has been sufficiently tried. In no country upon earth would 
an armed opposition to the laws be sooner or more effectually put down. Not so 
much by the terrors of the guillotine and the gibbet, as from the aroused determination 
of the nation, exhibiting their strength, and convincing the factious that their cause 
was hopeless. No, sir, depend upon it, that the possession of arbitrary power, by 
9 



^ THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

the government of Colombia, will not be the means of securing its tranquillity ; nor 
will the danger of disturbances solely arise from the opposition of the people. The 
power, and the military force which it will be necessary to put in the hands of the 
governors of the distant provinces, added t» the nature of the country, will continually 
present to those officers the temptation and the means of revolt. 

Will the proposed change restore prosperity to the country 1 With the best in- 
tentions to do so, will you be able to recall commerce to its shores and give new Ufe 
to the drooping state of agriculture 1 The cause of the constant decline, in these great 
interests, cannot be mistaken. It arises from the fewness of those who labor, and the 
number of those who are to l>c supported by that labor. To support a swarm of 
luxurious and idle monks, and an army greatly disproportioned to the resources of 
the country, with a body of officers in a tenfold degree disproportioned to the army, 
every branch of industry is oppressed with burdens which deprive the ingenious man 
of the profits of his ingenuity, and the laborer of his reward. To satisfy the con- 
stant and pressing demands which are made upon it, the treasury seizes upon every 
thing within its grasp — destroying the very germ of future prosperity. Is there any 
prospect that these evils will cease with the proposed change 1 Can the army be 
dispensed with 1 Will the influence of the monks be no longer necessary ? Believe 
me, sir, that the suj)port which the government derives from both these sources will 
be more than ever requisite. 

But the most important inquiry is, the effect which this strong government is ta 
have upon the people themselves. Will it tend to improve and elevate their character, 
and fit them for the freedom which it is pretended is ultimately to be bestowed upon 
them ? The question has been answered from the age of Homer. Man does not 
learn under oppression those noble qualities and feelings which fit iiim for the enjoy 
ment of libertj'. Nor is despotism the proper school in which to acquire the know 
ledge of the principles of republican government A government whose revenues 
are derived from diverting the very sources of wealth from its subjects, will not find 
the means of improving the morals and enlightening the minds of the youth, by 
supporting systems of liberal education ; and, if it could, it would not. 

In relation to the effect which this investment of power is to have upon your 
happiness and your fame, will the pomp and glitter of a court, and the flattery of 
venal courtiers, reward you for the troubles and anxieties attendant upon the exercise 
of sovereignty, everywhere, and those which will flow from your peculiar situation 1 
Or power, supported by the bayonet, for that wiihng homage which you were wont to 
receive from your fellow-citizens 1 The groans of a dissatisfied and oppressed people 
will penetrate the inmost recesses of your palace, and you will be tortured by the 
reflection, that you no longer possess that place in their affections, which was once 
your pride and your boast, and which would have been your solace under every re- 
verse of fortune. Unsupported by the people, your authority can be maintained only 
by the terrors of the sword and the scaffold. And have these ever been successful 
under similar circumstances ? Blood may smother, for a period, but can never extin- 
guish the fire of liberty, which you have contributed so much to kindle, in the bosom 
of every Colombian. 

I will not urge, as an argument, the personal dangers to which you will be exposed. 
But I will ask if you could enjoy life, which would be preserved by the constant 
execution of so many human beings — your countrymen, your former friends, and 
almost your worshippers. The pangs of such a situation will be made more acute, 
by reflecting on the hallowed motive of many of those who would aim their daggers 
at your bosom. That, like the last of the Romans, they would strike, not from hatred 
to the man, but love to the country. 

From a knowledge of your own disposition, and present feelings, your excellency 
will not be willing to believe that you could ever be brought to commit an act of 
tyranny, or even to execute justice with unnecessary rigor. But trust me, sir, that 
there is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest 
feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power. The man who, in the 
beginning of such a career, might shudder at the idea of taking away the life of a 
fellow being, might soon have his conscience so seared by the repetition of crime 
ihat the agomes of his murdered victims might become music to his soul, and th« 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 67 

drippings of his scaffold afford ' blsod enough to swim in.' History is full of suca 
examples. 

From this disgusting picture, permit me to call the attention of your excellency to 
one of a different character. It exhibits you as the constitutional chief magistrate of 
a free people, giving to their representatives the influence of your great name and 
talents, to reform the abuses which, in a long leign of tyranny and misrule, have 
fastened upon every bnvich of the administration. The army, and its swarm of 
officers reduced within the limits of real usefulness, placed on the frontiers, and 
no longer permitted to control pubUc opinion, and be the terror of the peaceful 
citizen. By the removal of this incubus from the treasury, and the establishment of 
order, responsibility, and economy, in the expenditures of the government, it would 
soon be enabled to dispense with the odious monopolies, and the duty of the alcavala, 
which have operated with so malign an effect upon commerce, and agriculture, and, 
indeed, upon the revenues which they were intended to augment No longer op- 
pressed by these shackles, industry would everywhere revive : the farmer and the 
artisan, cheered by the prospect of ample reward for their labor, would redouble their 
exertions ; foreigners, with their capital and skill in the arts, would crowd hither, to 
enjoy the advantages which could scarcely, elsewhere, be found : and Colombia 
would soon exhibit the reality of the beautiful fiction of Fenelon — Salentum rising 
from misery and oppression, to prosperity and happiness, under the counsels and 
direction of the concealed goddess. 

What objections can be urged against this course 1 Can any one acquainted with 
these circumstances of the country, doubt its success, in restoring and maintaining 
tranquillity ? The people would certainly not revolt against themselves ; and none 
of the chiefs who are supposed to be factiously inclined, would think of opposing the 
strength of the nation, when directed by your talents and authority. But it is said, 
that the want of intelUgence amongst the people unfits them for the government. Is 
it not right, however, that the experiment should be fairly tried ] I have already 
said that this has not been done. For myself, I do not hesitate to declare my firm 
belief, that it will succeed. The people of Colombia possess many traits of character 
suitable for a republican government. A more orderly, forbearing, and well-disposed 
people are nowhere to be met with. Indeed, it may safely he asserted, that their 
faults and vices are attributable to the cursed government to which they have been so 
long subjected, and to the intolerant character of the religion, whilst their virtues are 
all their own. But, admitting their present want of intelligence, no one has ever 
doubted their capacity to acquire knowledge, and under the strong motives which 
exist, to obtain it, supported by the influence of your excellency, it would soon be 
obtained. 

To yourself, the advantage would be as great as to the country ; Uke acts of mercy, 
the blessings would be reciprocal ; your personal happiness secured, and your fame 
elevated to a height which would leave but a single competition in the estimation of 
posterity. In bestowing the palm of merit, the world has become wiser than formerly. 
The successful warrior is no longer regarded as entitled to the first place in the temple 
of fame. Talents of this kind have become too common, and too often used for mis- 
chievous purposes, to be regarded as they once were. In this enlightened age, the 
mere hero of the field, and the successful leader of armies, may, for the moment, 
attract attention. But it will be such as is bestowed upon the passing meteor, whose 
blaze is no longer remembered, wjjen it is no longer seen. To be esteemed eminently 
great, it is necessary to be eminently good. The qualities of the hero and the general 
must be devoted to the advantage of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume 
the title of their benefactor ; and the station which he will hold in their regard and 
affections will depend, not upon the number and the splendor of his victories, but 
upon the results and the use he may make of the influence he acquires from them. 

If the fame of our Washington depended upon his military achievements, would 
the common consent of the world allow him the pre-eminence he possesses 1 The 
victories at Trenton, Monmouth, and York, brilliant as they were, exhibiting, as they 
certainly did, the highest grade of military talents, are scarcely thought of. The 
source of the veneration and esteem which is entertained for his character, by every 
description of politicians — the monarchist and aristocrat, as well as the republican, ia 
to be found in his undeviating and exclusive devotedness to the interest of his country. 



68 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

No selfish consideration was ever suffered to intrude itself into his mind. For his 
country he conqucrcil ; and the unrivalled and increasing prosperity of that country is 
constantly adding fresh glory to his name. General, the course which he pursued is 
open to you, and it depends upon yourself to attain the eminence which lie has 
reached before you. 

To the eyes of military men, the laurels you won on the fields of Vargas, Bayaca 
and Careliobo, will be forever green; but will that content you 1 Are you willing 
that your name should descend to posterity, amongst the mass of those whose fame 
has been derived from shedding human blood, without a single advantage to the hu- 
man race ! Or, shall it be united to that of Washington, as the founder and the 
father of a great and happy people 1 The choice is before you. The friends of 
liberty throughout the world, and the people of the United States in particular, are 
waiting your decision with intense anxiety. Alexander toiled and conquered to 
attain the applause of the Athenians ; will you regard as nothing the opinions of a 
nation which has evinced its superiority over that celebrated people, in the science 
most useful to man, by having carried into actual practice a system of government, 
of which the wisest Athenians had but a glimpse in theory, and considered as a 
blessing never to be realized, however ardently to be desired 1 The place which you 
are to occupy in their esteem depends upon yourself. Farewell. 

W. H. Harrisox." 

General Harrison arrived at New York on the 16th of February, 1830, and pro- 
ceeded to his farm at " North Bend." A short time after his return, he partook of a 
public dinner tendered to him by the citizens of Cincinnati as a mark of their high 
respect for his private virtues and distinguished public services. 

" In June, 1831,* he was chosen to deliver the annual discourse before the Hamil- 
ton county Agricultural Society. In this address, he gave evidence of being a sound 
practical farmer, combining theory and practice, in regard to crops and herds, with 
the same ready success, that in other days he had applied military principles to the 
movement of armies. A single extract from this valuable discourse is all that our 
limits will permit : 

'The encouragement of agriculture, gentlemen, would be praiseworthy in any 
country : in our own it is peculiarly so. Not only to multiply the means and enjoy- 
ment of Ufc, but as giving greater stability and security to our political institutions. 
In all ages and in all countries, it has been observed that the cultivators of the soil 
are those who are least willing to part with their rights, and submit themselves to 
the will of a master. I have no doubt also, that a taste for agricultural pursuits, is 
the best moans of disciplining the ambition of those daring spirits, who occasionally 
spring up in the world, for good or for evil, to defend or to destroy the liberties of 
their fellow-men, as the principles received from education or circumstances may 
tend. As long as the leaders of the Roman armies were taken from the plough, to 
the plough they were willing to return. Never, in the character of general, forgetting 
the duties of the citizen, and ever ready to exchange the sword and the triumph-il 
purple, for the homely vestments of the husbandman. 

The history of this far-famed republic is full of instances of this kind ; but none 
more remarkable than our own age and country have produced. The fascinations of 
power and the trappings of command were as much despised, and the enjoyment of 
rural scenes, and rural employments as highly prize^ by our Washington, as by Cin- 
cinnatus or Regulus. At the close of his glorious military career, he says, ' I am pre- 
paring to return to that domestic retirement which it is well known I left with the 
deepest regret, and for which I have not ceased to sigh through a long and painful 
absence.' 

Your efforts, gentlemen, to diffuse a taste for agriculture amongst men of all de- 
scriptions and professions, may produce results more important even than increasing 
the means of subsistence, and the enjoyment of life. It may cause some future con- 
queror for his country, to end his career 

'Guiltless of his country's blood.* 



* Sketches, &c. 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 69 

To the heart-cheering prospect of flocks and herds feeding on unrivalled pastures , 
fields of grain, exhibiting the scriptural proof that the seed had been cast on good 

ground how often is the eye of the philanlhroi)ic traveller disgusted with the dark, 

unsightly manufactories of a certain poison — poison to the body and the soul. A 
modern ^Eneas or Ulysses might mistake them for entrances into the Infernal Kegions ; 
nor would they greatly err. But unlike those passages which conducted the Grecian 
and Trojan heroes on their pious errands, the scenes to which these conduct the un- 
happy wretch who shall enter are those, exclusively, of misery and woe. No relief 
to the sad picture; no Tartarus there, no Elysium here. It is all Tartarian darkness, 
and, not unfrequently, Tartarian crime. I speak more freely of the practice of con- 
verting the material of the ' staff of life' (and by which so many human beings yearly 
perish) into an article which is so destructive of health and happiness, because in that 
way I have sinned myself; hut in that way I shall sin no more.'* 

In 1831, pending an application in congress for the settlement of the accounts of 
J. Symmes Harrison, late receiver of public moneys at Vincennes, colonel Richard M. 
Johnson, now vice-president of the United States, in alluding to the father of the 
late receiver, spontaneously bore the following well merited tribute to his old com- 
mander : 

' Who is general Harrison 7 The son of one of the signers of the declaration of 
independence, who spent the greater part of his large fortune in redeeming the 
pledge he then gave, of his ' fortune, life and sacred honor,' to secure the liberties of 
his country. 

Of the career of general Harrison I need not speak — the history of the west is 
his history. For forty years he has been identified with its interests, its perils, and its 
hopes. Universally beloved in the walks of peace, and distinguished by his ability in 
the councils of his country, he has been yet more illustriously distinguished in the 
field. 

During the late war, he was longer in active service than any other general officer ; 
he was, perhaps, oftener in action than any one of them, and never sustained a de- 
feat.' 

In 1833, general Harrison dehvered, by appointment, at Cheviot, Hamilton county, 
Ohio, an address in commemoration of the 4th of July, which was subsequently 
published by the committee of arrangements. It presents a summary of the causes 
which led to the revolutionary war, and a lucid exposition of the constitution of the 
United States. His interpretation of that instrument is in strict accordance with the 
celebrated resolutions of Virginia and Kentucky, of 1798. 

Being desirous of making a fair representation of the views of general Harrison, 
on all important public matters, we now introduce two documents touching his opi- 
nion on the subject of slavery. In the year 1 822, when he was a candidate for congress, 
his opponents, for the purpose of defeating his election, charged him with being a pro- 
slavery man— that he had owned slaves, and had been in favor of introducing slavery 
into Indiana. In refutation of this sweeping charge, general Harrison published an 
address, from which we take all of that portion relating to the subject of slavery. It 
is in these words : 

' Being called suddenly home to attend my sick family, I have but a moment to 
answer a few of the calumnies which are in circulation concerning me. 

I am accused of being friendly to slavery. From my earliest youth to the present 
moment, I have been the ardent friend of Human Liberty. At the age of eighteen, 
I became a member of an Abolition Society established at Richmond, Virginia ; the 
object of which was to ameliorate the condition of slaves and procure their freedom 
hy every legal means. My venerable friend, judge Gatch, of Clermont county, was 
also a "member of this society, and has lately given me a certificate that I was one. 
The obligations which I then came U7jder I have faithfully performed. I have been 

* " Some years since, general Harrison established a. distillery on his farm, to convert his sur- 
plus corn into whisky. Soon perceiving the bad consiMiiiences of such a manufactory, u|>on 
the surrounding population, he clieerfuliy tncounterGd pecuniary sacrifice by abolialiiaj \x\a 
manufactory of that baneful article." 



TO THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

the means of liberating many slaves, bttl never placed one in bondage. I deny tha 
my vote in congress in relation to Missouri and Aricansas, are in the least incompati- 
ble with these principles. Congress had no more legal or constitutional right to 
emancipate the negroes in those sections of Louisiana without the consent of their 
owners, than they have to free those of Kentucky. These people were secured in 
their property by a solemn covenant with France when the country was purchased 
from that power. To prohibit the emigration of citizens of the southern states to 
the part of the country, the situation and climate of which was peculiarly suited to 
them, would have been highly unjust, as it had been purchased out of thi; common 
fund. Particularly, too, when it is recollected that all the immense territory to the 
north-west of the Ohio had been ceded by Virginia, and with an unexampled liber- 
ality, she had herself proposed, that by excluding slavery from it, to secure it for the 
emigration of those states which had no slaves. Was it proper, then, when her re- 
served territory was in a great measure filled up, to exclude her citizens from every 
part of the territory purchased out of the common fund 1 / was the first person to 
introduce info congress the proposition that all the country above Missouri (which 
having no inhabitants was free from the objection made to Missouri and Arkansas) 
should never hove slavery admitted into it. I repeat what I have before said, that as 
our union was only effected by mutual concession, so only can it be preserved. 

My vote against the restriction of Missouri in forming her constitution was not a 
conclusive one ; there would have been time enough, had I continued to be a member, 
before the question was decided, for my constituents to have instructed me, and I 
should have rejoiced in an opportunity of sacrificing my seat to my principles, if they 
had instructed me in opposition to my construction of the constitution. Like many 
other members from the non-slaveholding states, of whom I mention Shaw, Holmes, 
Mason of Massachusetts, Laman of Connecticut, and Baldwin of Pennsylvania, I 
could see nothing in the constitution which I had sworn to support, to warrant such 
an interference with the rights of the states, and which had never before been attempt- 
ed. And where is the crime in one set of men not being able to interpret the consti- 
tution as other men interpret it 1 As we had all sworn to support it, the crime 
would have been in giving it a construction which our consciences would not sanc- 
tion. And let me ask, for what good is this question again brought up 1 It has 
been settled, as all our family differences have been settled, on the firm basis of mu- 
tual compromise. And patriotism, as well as prudence, devoted the effects of that 
awful discussion to eternal oblivion. Is it not known, that from that cause the g^-eat 
fabric of our Union was shaken to its foundation 1 Is it not known that Missouri 
would not have submitted to the restriction, and that the other slave-holding states 
had determined to support her? But for this compromise, the probability is, that at 
this moment we might look upon the opposite shore of Ohio, not for an affectionate 
sister state, but on an armed and implacable rival. What patriotic man would not join 
the gallant Eaton in execrating the head and the hand that could devise and execute 
a scheme productive of a calamity so awful 1 

U^pon the whole, fellow-citizens, our path is a plain one ; it is that marked out as 
•well by humanity as duty. We cannot emancipate the slaves of the other states 
without their consent, but by producing a convulsion which would undo us all. For 
this much to be desired event, we must wait the slow but certain progress of those 
good principles which are everywhere gaining ground, and which assuredly will ulti- 
mately prevail.' 

It is proper to remark, that this society, originally established by the Quakers, but 
not confined to them, was, according to the statement of judge Gatch, a ' Humane 
Society ;' and it seems to have been of a character to which no exceptions were taken 
in Virginia. A number of the citizens of Richmond were members, and its princi- 
ples were not understood to be at all in conflict with the rights guarantied to the 
owners of slaves, by the constitution and the laws of the land. Within a few months 
after his first connexion with this society, general Harrison, then but eighteen years 
of age, removed from Virginia, since which time he has never attended one of its 
rneeUngs. nor been either directly or indirectly connected with any society touching 
tJlG question of slavery. 

The other document upon this subject, is taken from a speech made by general 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 71 

Harrison, at Vincennes, Imliana, in May, 1835, on the occasion of a public dinner 
having been given to him by the citizens of that place. 

' I have now, fellow-citizens, a few more words to say on another subject, and 
which is, in my opinion, of more importance than any other that is now in the course 
of discussion in any part of the Union. I allude to the societies which have been 
formed, and the movements of certain individuals in some of the states in relation to 
a portion of the population in others, 'i'lie conduct of these persons is the more 
dangerous, because their object is masked under the garb of (bsinterestediiess and be- 
nevolence ; and their course vindicated by arguments and propositions which, in the 
abstract, no one can deny. But however fascinating may be the dress with which 
their schemes are presented to their fellow-citizens, with whatever purity of intention 
they may have been formed and sustained, they will be found to carry in their train 
mischief to the whole Union, and horrors to a large portion of it, which, it is probable, 
some of the projectors and many of their supporters have never thought of; the 
latter, the fust in the series of evils which are to spring from th(<ir source, are such as 
you have seen perpetrated on tlie fair plains of Italy and Gaul, by the Scythian 
hordes of Attila and Alaric ; and such as most of you apprehended upon that memora- 
ble night, when the tomahawks and war clubs of the followers of Tecumsch were 
rattling in your suburbs. I regard not the disavowals of any such intention upon the 
part of the authors of these schemes, since, upon the examination of the i)ublication3 
which have been made, they will be found to contain the very facts, and very argu- 
ments which they would have used, if such had been their object. I am certain that 
th^re is not, in this assembly, one of these deluded men, and that there are few within 
the bounds of the state. If there are any, I would earnestly entreat them to forbear, 
to pause in their career, and deliberately consider the consequence of their conduct to 
the whole Union, to the states more immediately interested, and to those for whose 
benefit they profess to act. That the latter will be the victims of the weak, injudi- 
cious, presumptuous, and unconstitutional efforts to serve them, a thorough examina- 
tion of the subject must convince them. The struggle (and struggle there must be) 
may commence with horrors such as I have described, but it will end with more 
firmly riveting the chains, or in the utter extirpation of those whose cause they 
advocate. 

Am I wrong, fellow-citizens, in applying the terms weak, presumptuous, and un- 
constitutional, to the measures of the emancipators 1 A slight examination will, I 
think, show that I am not. In a vindication of the objects of a convention which 
was lately held in one of the towns of Ohio, which I saw in a newspaper, it was said 
that nothing more was intended than to produce a state of public feeling which would 
lead to an amendment of the constitution, authorizing the abolition of slavery in the 
United States. Now can an amendment of the constitution be effected without the 
consent of the southern states ? What then is the proposition to be submitted to 
them ? It is this : — ' The present provisions of the constitution secure to you the 
right, (a right which you held before it was made, which you have never given up,) 
to manage your domestic concerns in your own way ; but as we are convinced that 
you do not manage them properly, we want you to put in the hands of the general 
government, in the councils of which we have the majority, the control over these 
matters, the etl'ect of which will be virtually to transfer the power from yours into our 
hands.' Again, in some of the states, and in sections of others, the black population 
far exceeds that of *.*ie white. Some of the emancipators propose immediate aboli- 
tion. What is the proposition then, as it regards the states and parts of states, but 
the alternatives of amalgamation with the blacks, or an exchange of situations with 
them 1 Is there any man of common sense who does not believe that the emanci- 
pated blacks, being a majority, will not insist upon a full participation of pohtical rights 
with the whites ; and when possessed of these, they will not contend for a full share 
of social rights also 1 What but the extremity of weakness and folly could induce 
any one tn think, that such propositions as these could be listened to by a people so 
intelligent as the southern states '! Further, the emancipators generally declare that 
it is their intention to effect their object (although their acts contradict their assertion) 
by no other means than by convincing the slave-holders that the emancipation of the 
slaves is called for, both by moral obligation and sound policy. An unfledged youth, 
at the moment of his leaving (indeed, in many instances, before he has left it) ait 



78 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

theological seminary, undertakes to give lectures upon morals to the countrymen of 
Wythe, Tucker, Pcnilleton, and Lowndes, and lessons of political wisdom to states, 
whose affairs have so recently been directed by Jefferson and Madison, Macon and 
Crawford. Is it possible, that instances of greater vanity and presumption could be 
exhibited 1 But the course pursued by the emancipators is unconstitutional. I do 
not say that there are any words in the constitution which forbid the discussions they 
are engaged in ; I know that there are not. And citizens have the right to express 
and publish their opinions without restriction. But in the construction of the consti- 
tution, it is always necessary to refer to the circumstances under which it was framed, 
and to ascertain its meaning by a comparison of its provisions with each other, and 
with the previous situation of the several states who were parties to it. In a portion 
of these, slavery was recognised, and they took care to have the right secured to them • 
to follow and reclaim such of them as were fugitives to other states. The laws of 
congress passed under this power, have provided punishment for any one who shall 
oppose or interrupt the exercise of this right. Now can any one believe, that the in- 
strument which contains a provision of this kind, which authorizes a master to pursue 
his slave into another state, take him back, and provides a punishment for any citizen 
or citizens of that state who should oppose him, should, at the same time, authorize 
the latter to assemble together, to pass resolutions and adopt addresses, not only to 
encourage the slaves to leave their masters, but to cut their throats before they 
do so 1 

I insist, that if the citizens of the non-slaveholding states can avail themselves of 
the article of the constitution, which prohibits the restriction of speech or the press 
to publish any thing injurious to the rights of the slaveholding states, that they can go 
to the extreme that I have mentioned, and effect any thing further which writing or 
speaking could effect. But, fellow-citizens, these are not the principles of the consti- 
tution. Such a construction would defeat one of the great objects of its formation, 
wliich was that of securing the peace and harmony of the states which were parties 
to it. The liberty of speech and of the press, were given as the most effectual means 
to preserve to each and every citizen their own rights, and to the states the rights 
which appertained to them, at the time of their adoption. It could never have been 
expected that it would be used by the citizens of one portion of the states for the 
purpose of depriving those of another portion, of the rights which they had reserved 
at the adoption of the constitution, and in the exercise of which, none but themselv«s 
have any concern or interest. If slavery is an evil, the evil is with them. If ther»! 
is guilt in it, the guilt is theirs, not ours, since neither the states where it does not 
exist, nor the government of the United States can, without usurpation of power, and 
the violation of a solemn compact, do any thing to remove it without the consent of 
those who are immediately interested. But they will neither ask for aid nor consent 
to be aided, whilst the illegal, persecuting, and dangerous movements are in progress, 
of which I complain : the interest of all concerned requires that these should be 
stopped immediately. This can only be done by the force of public opinion, and 
that cannot too soon be brought into operation. Every movement which is made by 
the abolitionists in the non-slaveholding states, is viewed by our southern brethren as 
an attack upon their rights, and which, if persisted in, must in the end eradicate those 
feelings of attachment and affection between the citizens of all the states, which was 
produced by a community of interests and dangers in the war of the revolution, 
which was the foundation of our happy union, and by a continuance of which, it can 
alone be preserved. I entreat you, then, to frown upon the measures which are to 
produce results so much to be deprecated. The opinions which I have now given, I 
have omitted no opportunity for the last two years to lay before the people of my own 
state. I have taken the liberty to express them here, knowing that even if they should 
unfortunately not accord with yours, they would be Idndly received.' 

The attempt has been made to show that these two documents are inconsistent with 
each other. A careful comparison of them, however, must bring the candid inquirer 
for truth, to a different conclusion. On this, as well as upon all other questions upon 
^vhich general Harrison has been called to act or express himself, there is an exhibi- 
uon of the same consistency of opinion and character which has marked the whole 
of nis eventful Ufe." 



THE TIPrECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 73" 

To the above we append the following : 

From (he Charks/nn (S. C.) Courier. 

Gexehal HAnnisoN. — Wo give below further evidence of general Harrison's 
soundness on the subject of abolition. No further confirmation is needed by us, since 
our knowledge of his Vinccnnes speech, and his recent renewed avowal of it, in an 
extract of a letter from him, jiublished in our paper ; but it is right, slandered as lie 
has been and still is on this subject, that the public should be put in possession of all 
proofs bearing upon it. We therefore not only publish the subjoined letter, but call 
upon the honourable John M. Berrien, of Georgia, to make public the letter in his 
possession, referred to by general Harrison, as containing a more full exposition of his 
sentiments and views. 

From the Netv Orleans Bee. 

Genetiai. Hauuiso-v — Abolition. — The opinions of general Harrison, in respect 
to the rights of the south, and the powers of congress to interfere with the institutions 
of slavery, have been so repeatedly expressed, and in so many ways, by his votes in 
congress, his public speeches and private correspondence, that the following letters 
were hardlv needed to satisfy the skeptical of his entire soundness upon that absorbing 
topic. The evidences heretofore laid before the public, were suflicient to convince 
any one open to human testimony, that the slave states had not a faster friend than 
William Henry Harrison, or one who would more rigidly guard the rights secured to 
them by our sacred Constitution. Lest there should be any lingering doubt in the 
public mind, we lav before our readers the following document, which will set all cavil 
at rest, except with those who would not believe, " though one should rise from the 
dead," 

The following letter was written by general Harrison to a gentleman well known 
to the people of tliis city. It was first published in the True American on Wednes- 
day last, 

"Ci7icinnall, 25th November, 1836. 

Mr DEAR SIR — I answer the questions you proposed to me this morning, with 
great pleasure. 

First : I do not believe that congress can abolish slavery in the states, or vi any 
manner interfere with the property of the citizens in their slaves, but upon the appli- 
cation of the states, in which case, and in no other, they might appropriate money to 
aid the states so applying to get rid of their slaves. These opinions I have always 
held, and this was the ground upon which I voted against the Missouri restriction in 
the fifteenth congress. The opinions given above are precisely those which were 
entertained by Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison. 

Second: I do not believe that congress can abolish slavery in the District of Colum- 
bia, without the consent of Virginia and Maryland, and the people of the District. 

I received a letter some time since, from John M. Berrien, esq., of Georgia, propos- 
ing questions, similar to those made by you, and I answered them more at length than 
I have now done, but to the same import. 

In haste, yours truly, _ _ W. H. Harrison. 

To Tliomas Sloo, jr., of New Orleans, now in Cincinnati." 

These were the sentiments of general Harrison less than four years ago. They 
Gonform to the views he has always expressed upon this question ; and, what is more 
to the purpose, they conform to every act of his life, when called upon, either in his 
capacity of legislator to vote, or, as a citizen of influence and weight of character, to 
address the people upon the suliject. 

General Harrison's opinions have undergone no change since the dat6 of the above 
letter. His whole course concerning our domestic institutions has been decided, firm, 
and without change. 

F-rom the Charleston (S. C.) Courier. 

General Harrison and Abolition. — We give place, with pleasure, to the fol- 
lowing letter, from a distinguished Georgian, in answer to our recent call on him 
adding another to the already multiplied proofs of general Harrison's soundness ou 
the slave question. , 

''Sava7inah, April \\,\S^(\. 

Gentlemen — You call upon me, in your paper of the 8th inst., to make pubhr n 
10 G 



T4 THE TIPPECA.NOE TEXT-BOOK. 

letter, addressed to me by general Harrison, on the subject of abolition. I have 
already replied to a similar request, made by the editor of the Daily Telegraph, a 
paper published in this city : but as I know not if that paper (which has been recently 
established) is on your list of exchanges, and feel that the liberality of your conduct, 
towards a political opponent, gives you an undoubted claim to the respect and courtesy 
of his friends. I repeat the substance of that answer. 

The letter in question was written in 1836, in anticipation of a statn of things 
which did not occur. It was, therefore, not made public, and I fear has not been pre- 
served. At least, after a diligent search among my papers, I have been unable to find 
it Its contents, however, are perfectly within my recollection, and I do all that is in 
my power to comply with your request, by stating them, as I have done to the editor 
of the Telegraph. The letter embraced three points. 

First: General Harrison denied the right of congress to abolish slavery in the states, 
or in the District of Columbia. 

Second: He expressed the opinion that the tariff compromise ought to remain 
undisturbed. 

Third : He repudiated the practice of making appointments to office the reward of 
partisan service. 

This was the purport of the letter. I did not ask general Harrison's opinion, 
because I doubted it. Having been in intimate intercourse with him for several years, 
t knew that his views on this subject were in accordance with my own. 

I am, very respectfully, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 

J. Macpherson Bekrien." 

"In 1835,* at the celebration of the forty-seventh anniversary of the s-ettlement of 
Ohio, held in Cincinnati, general Harrison was among the invited guests ; and in 
reply to some complimentary toast, offered by the committee of arrangement, referring 
to general Wayne and himself, general Harrison took occasion to speak of the claims 
of the subordinate officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the regular army 
in the west, under Harmer, St. Clair, and Wayne, who brought the war of the revolu- 
tion to a close, by the victory of the Miami of the Lake. In this address, the claims 
of these soldiers were presented in a strong, touching, and beautiful manner. From 
the many admirable sentiments contained in this speech, we cannot forbear quoting 
the following: 'No more fatal idea can be entertained, than that our republic is to be 
preserved either by the wealth of our citizens or the amount of the revenue of the 
government. The brightest eras of the republics which have existed, were those 
when honorable poverty prevailed, and when patriotism was best rewarded.' 

In the autumn of 1837, general Harrison delivered a discourse before the Philoso- 
phical and Historical Society of Ohio, on the aborigines of the Ohio, which has since 
been published in the first volume of the Transactions of that body. It embraces 
about fifty pages of the work, and is among the most valuable contributions which 
have yet been made to that society. This discourse, written with classic elegance, in 
pure Saxon, is ingenious and profound, presenting the results of much close and accu- 
rate observation upon the ancient works and aborigines of the valley of the Ohio. 
Having space but for a single extract, we take the following, on the reproduction of 
the forest upon the banks of the Ohio, after it has once been destroyed. The subject 
is introduced by the author to prove the great antiquity of the ancient mounds and 
fortifications of this region. 

' The process by which nature restores the forest to its original state, after being once 
cleared, is extremely slow. In our rich lands, it is, indeed, soon covered again with 
timber, but the character of the growth is entirely different, and continues so, through 
many generations of men. In several places on the Ohio, particularly upon the farm 
which I occupy, clearings were made in the first settlement, abandoned, and suffered 
to grow up. Some of them, now to be seen, of nearly fifty years' growth, have made 
60 little progress towards attaining the appearance of the immediately contiguous 
forest, as bD induce any man of reflection, to determine, that at least ten times fifty 
years would be necessary before its complete assimilation could be effected. The sites 
of the ancient works on the Ohio, present precisely the same appearance as the cir 

♦ Sketches, &c. 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 75 

cumjaccnt forest. You find on them, all that beautiful variety of trees, which gives 
sufh unrivalled richness to our forests. This is particularly the case on the fifteen 
acres included within the walls of the work at the mouth of the Great Miami, and 
the relative jjroportions of the different kinds of timber, are about the same. The first 
growth on the same kind of land, once cleared, and then abandoned to nature, on the 
contrary, is more homogeneous — often stinted to one, or two, or at most three kinds 
of timber. If the ground had been cultivated, yellow locust, in many places, will 
spring up as thick as garden peas. If it has not been cultivated, the black and white 
walnut will be the prevailing growth. The rapidity with which these trees grow for 
a time, smothers the attempt of other kinds to vegetate and grow in their shade. 
The more thrifty individuals soon overtop the weaker of their own kind, which sicken 
and die. In this way, there is soon only as many left as the earth will well sufiport 
to maturity. All this time the squirrels may plant the seed of those trees which 
serve them for food, and by neglect suffer them to remain, — it will be in vain ; the 
birds may drop the kernels, the external pulp of which have contributed to their 
nourishment, and divested of which they are in the best state for germinating, still it 
will be of no avail : the winds of heaven may waft the winged seeds of the syca- 
more, cotton-wood and maple, and a friendly shower may bury them to the necessary 
depth in the loose and fertile soil — but still without success. The roots below rob 
them of moisture, and the canopy of limbs and leaves above intercept the rays of the 
sun, and the dews of heaven : the young giants in possession, like another kind of 
aristocracy, absorb the whole means of subsistence, and leave the mass to perish at 
their feet. This state of things will not, however, always continue. If the process 
of nature is slow and circuitous, in putting down usurpation and establishing the 
equality which she loves, and which is the great characteristic of her principles, it is 
sure and eflectual. The preference of the soil for the first growth, ceases with its 
maturity. It admits of no succession, upon the principles of legitimacy. The long 
undisputed masters of the forest may be thinned by the lightning, the tempest, or by 
diseases peculiar to themselves ; and whenever this is the case, one of the oft-rejected 
of another family, will find between its decaying roots, shelter, and appropriate food ; 
and, springing into vigorous growth, will soon push its green foliage to the skies, 
through the decayed and withering limbs of its blasted and dying adversary— the soil 
itself, yielding it a more liberal support than any scion from the former occupant. ' It 
will easily be conceived what a length of time it will require for a denuded tract of 
land, by a process so slow, again to clothe itself with the amazing variety of foliage 
which is the characteristic of the forests of this region. Of what immense age, then, 
must be those works, so often referred to, covered, as has been supposed by those 
who have the best opportunity of examining them, with the second growth after the 
ancient forest state had been regained?''" 



CHAPTER IX. 

fiESEHAI. HARRISON NOMINATED AS A CANDIDATE TO THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES LETTER TO THE OFFICERS OF THE MARYLAND CON- 
VENTION LETTER TO SHEHROD WILLIAMS LETTER TO JOHN H. PLEASANTS 

RELATIVE TO SELLING WHITE MEN LETTER RESPECTING THE CHARGE THAT 

HE HAD BURNT A MORAVIAN TOWN IN CANADA NOMINATED BY THE NA- 
TIONAL DEMOCRATIC ANTI-MASONIC CONVENTION LETTER TO HARMER DENNT 

—NOMINATED BY THE NATIONAL CONVENTION AT HARRISBURG HIS LETTER 

ACCEPTING THE NOMINATION, &C. 

In the spring of 1836, general Harrison was spontaneously nominated as a candi- 
date for the presidency of the United States by the people, and the nomination waa 
confirmed by the state conventions opposed to the election of Mr. Van Buren. From 
his replies to the oflScers of the different conventions, directed to inform him of his 
nomination, we select the following to the officers of the Maryland convention, recorded 
in Niles, vol, 1. p. 128, which is characterized by that modest, yet manly, spirit which 
marks his communications. 
6 



^o THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

" North Bend, 9lh February, 1836. 

Gextlemex — Your letter, covering the proceedings of the convention ijy which I 
was nominated their candidate for the presidency of the United States was received in 
the due course of the mail, and the resolutions they contained, are such as to create 
in my bosom feehngs of gratitude towards the people of Maryland, which will be 
cherished to the last moment of my existence. These feelings were greatly increased 
from the reflection that, with a very few exceptions, I was personally unknown to the 
iiiemhers of the convention, and, exclusively of some of her statesmen, with whom 
I have served in the national councils, but to a few others of her citizens. With 
thousands of those of some other states [ have been associated in scenes, where the 
dilhculties and dangers, to which we were in common exposed, have created a feeling 
of attachment aad {)artiality, which is often found to warp the judgments of good 
men, and induce them to bestow their confidence and suffrages on those possessing 
inferior qualifications. Having no advantages of this kind to boast of in relation to my 
fellow-citizens of Maryland, I am gratified with the reflection, considering the pre-emi- 
nent talents of several of those from whom their selections might have been made, that 
I am indebted for the distinction with which they have honored me, to the greater 
length of my public services, and the belief that in the discharge of the various and 
important trusts which have been committed to me, the confidence of my country has 
never been betrayed nor its interests sacrificed. This is precisely the ground which I 
wish to occupy. Conscious of many deficiencies and imperfections, I have endea- 
vored to supply the place of the qualities I wanted by unwearied zeal and undeviating 
fidelity. 

How delightful is the reflection that by an assembly so enlightened and free as that 
of the late Maryland convention, the character in which I so ardently desire to stand 
before my countrymen should be accorded to me. In relation to the freedom with 
which the choice was made, gentlemen, I venture to assure you, that should your 
efforts to place me in the executive chair of this great nation, prove successful, that 
the influence and [latronage of that office shall never be used to control or impair it, 
in any of your future deliberations. And that if in the year 1839 your own great 
emporium or any other place, should be the theatre for the exhibition of another na- 
tional convention, it shall be, as far as my efTorts can effect it, what that of 1835 pur- 
ported to be, ' an assembly fresh from the people, the true representation of their un- 
biassed wishes, the faithful echo of their opinions.' 

This declaration is made with a perfect consciousness of the little confidence which 
is given to pledges of any kind, made by persons situated as I am. I know that they 
have been made and violated in every age and in every country, where men have de- 
pended for their advancement to the highest offices on the good opinion of their 
countrymen. But in almost every instance the deceiver has been found possessed of 
grasping and insatiable ambition, (of which the germs might have been discovered in 
his previous conduct,) and generally united with commanding genius and splendid 
talents. 'I'here is, I trust, nothing in my previous conduct to show that I possess the 
former character, and utterly disclaiming the latter, my sole reliance, for preserving 
the good opinion of my countrymen, is the preservation of that character for fidelity 
to my engagements, which the convention, which you, gentlemen, represent, as well 
as others of my fellow-citizens have been pleased to allow to me. 

Wiih high consideration, I am, gentkmen, your humble servant, 

W.M. H. Haruison. 
To \Vm. BrnrUey Tyler, president, 

Robert W.Bowie, Henry V. Sunicnulk, Reuben Tall, Henry S. Stiles, v. presidents, 
hiiitph H. NichuLon, John Buziuan Kerr, secretaries." 

In Ajiril, 1830, the hon. Shcrrod A\'illiams, a member of congress from Kentuckv, 
addressed the following letter to general Harrison, and his competitors for the office 
of president. The reply of general Harrison, inserted below, may be found in Niles, 
vol. li. pp. 23, 21. 

" \Va.<;fiin<;fon, Aprils, 1836. 

Sill — I consider it the right of every citizen of the United States to ask and de- 
mand, and to be fully informed of the political principles and opinions of those who are 
candidates for the various offices in the gift of the people, and the imperious duty of 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-COOK. 77 

the camlitlate to franlily ami fully avow anJ declare the opinions wliich I>e ontortainK. 
I, theret'ori', as a voter, a citizen, afid an individual, fccliiip; a deep and aliidin;; interest 
in the weUiire and prosperity of our common conntry, and an ardent desire to see the 
perpetuilv of our free and hap[)y form of government, take the liberty of asking you 
to give me. your opinion and views on the tollowinn sulijects: 

First: Will you (if elected president of the United .States) sign and approve a hill 
distributing the surplus revenue of the United States, to each stale, according to the 
federal population of each, for internal improvements, education, and to such other 
objects as the legislatures of the several states may see fit to apply the samel 

Second: Will you sign and approve a bill distributing the proceeds of the sales of 
the public lands to each state, according to the federal population of each, for the 
purposes above specified ? 

Third : Will you sign and approve bills making appropriations to improve navigable 
streams above jiorts of entry 1 

Fourth : Will you sign and approve (if it becomes necessary to secure and save 
from depreciation the revenue and finances of the nation, and to affonl a uniform 
sound currency to the people of the United States) a bill (with proper modifications 
and restrictions) chartering a bank of the United States 1 

Fifth : What is your opinion as to the constitutional power of the senate or the 
house of representatives of the congress of the United States, to expunge or obliterate 
from the journals the records and proceedings of a previous session 1 

A frank, plain, and full answer to the foregoing inquiries is respectfully and earnestly 
solicited. Your answer is desired as soon as possible. I intend this and your answer 
for publication. 

I have the honor to be your humble and obedient servant, 

Sherrod Williams." 

" ^'orth Bend, Mr/i/ 1. 1836. 

Sin — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th ultimo, 
in which you request me to answer the following questions : 

First: ' Will you, if elected president of the United States, sign and approve a bill 
distributing the surplus revenue of the United States, to each state according to the 
federal population of each, for internal improvement, education, and to such other 
objects as the legislature of the several states may see fit to apply the same V 

Second : * Will you sign and approve a bill distributing the proceeds of the sales of 
the public lands to each state, according to the federal population of each, for the 
purposes above specified!' 

Third: ' Will you sign and approve bills making appropriations to improve navi- 
gable streams above ports of entry V 

Fourth : ' Will you sign and approve (if it becomes necessary to secure and save 
from depreciation the revenue and finances of the nation, and to aflford a uniform 
sound currency to the people of the United States) a bill, with proper modifications 
and restrictions, chartering a bank of the United Stales?' 

Fifth : ' What is your opinion as to the constitutional power of the senate or 
house of representatives of the congress of the United States, to expunge or obliterate 
from the journals, the records and proceedings of a previous session V 

From the manner in which the four first questions are stated, it appears that you 
do not ask my opinions as to the policy or propriety of the measures to which they 
respectively refer ; but what would be my course, if they were presented to me 
(being in the presidential chair of the United States) in the shape of bills, that had 
been duly passed by the senate and house of representatives. 

From the opinions which I have formed of the intention of the constitution, as to 
cases in which the veto power should be exercised by the president, I would have con- 
tented myself with giving an affirmative answer to the four first questions ; but, from 
the deep interest which has been and indeed is now felt in relatitm to all the subjects, 
I think it proper to express my views upon each one separately. 

I answer, then, first: That the immediate return of all the surplus money which 
is, or ought to be, in the treasury of the United States, to the possession of the pee»- 
ple from whom it was taken, is called for by every principle of policy and, nideed, of 
eafetj' to our institutions ; and I know of no mode of doing it better than iha ' 

G 2 



78 TPIE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

recommpnJeJ by the present chief magistrate, in his first annual message to congress,- 
in the following words : ' To ai-oid these evils it appears to me that the mast safe, 
just, and fiderul disposition which could be made of the surplus revenue, tvou/d be 
il:i apportloiiinmt among the several states according to the ratio of representation!! 

Tliis proposition has reference to a state of things which now actually exists, with 
the exception of the amount of money thus to be disposed of; for it could not have 
been anticipated by the president that the surplus above the real wants or convenient 
expenditures of the government would become so large, as that retaining it in the 
treasury would so mudi diminish the circulating medium as greatly to embarrass thu 
business of the country. 

Wliat other disposition can be made of it, with a view to get it into immediate 
circu!:ition. but to place it in the hands of the state authorities? So great is the 
amount, and so rapidly is it increasing, that it could not be expended for a very con- 
siderable time on the comparatively few o!)jects to which it could be appropriated by 
t!ie general government ; but the desired distriinition amongst the people could lie 
inmiediately effected by the states, from the infinite variety of ways in which it might 
be employed by thein. By them it might be loaned to their own banking institutions, 
or even to individuals — a mode of distribution by the general government, which I 
sincerely hope is in the contemplation of no friend to his country. 

Second: Whilst I have always broadly admitted that the public lands were the com- 
mon property of all the states, I have been the advocate of that mod« of disposing of 
tliem, which would create the greatest number of freeholders; and I conceived that ia 
this way the interests of all woidd be as well secured as by any other disposition ; 
biit since, by the small size of the tracts in which the lands are now laid out, and the 
reduction of the price, this desirable situation is easily attainable by any person of 
tolerable industry, I am perfectly reconciled to the distribution of the proceeds of the 
sales, as provided for by the bill introduced into the senate by Mr. Clay ; tire interests 
of all seem to be well provided for by this bill ; and as, from the opposition which has 
hitherto been made to the disposition of the lands heretofore contemplated by the 
r.-presentatives of the new states, there is no probability of its' being adopted, I think 
it ought no longer to be insisted on. 

Third : As I believe that no money should be taken from the treasury of the United 
States to be expended on internal improvements but for these which are strictly na- 
tional, the answer to this question would be easy, but from the difiiculty of determining 
wdiich of those that are from time to time proposed, would be of this description. 
This circumstance, the excitement which has already been produced by appropriations 
of this kind, and the jealousies which it will no doubt continue to produce if persisted 
in, give additional claims to the motle of appn-opriating all the surplus revenue of the 
United States in the manner above suggested. Each state will then have the nieans 
of accomplishing its own schemes and internal improvement. Still there will be 
particular cases when a contemplated improvement will he of greater advantage to 
the Union generally, and some particular states, than to that in which it is to be 
made. In such cases, as well as those in the nCTv states, where the value of the 
public domain will be greatly enhanced by an improvement in the means of com- 
jnunicalion, the general government should certainly largely contribute. To appro- 
jtriations of the latter character there has never been a very warm opposition. Upon 
the whole, the distribution of the surplus revenue amongst the states seems likely to 
remove most, if not all, the causes of di9?en.sion of which the internal improvement 
jif.-tem hag been the fruitful source. There is nothing, in my opinion, more sacredly 
iiicumhent upon tho.se who are concerned in the administration of our government, 
than that of preserving harmony l)etwcen the states. From the construction of our 
Kystem, there has been, and probably ever will be, more or less jealousy between the 
general and state governments; but there is nothing. in the constitution — nothing in 
the character of the relation which the states bear to each other, which can create 
any unfriendly feeling, if the common guardian administers its favors with an even 
and impartial hand. That this nwy be the case, all those to whom any portion of 
this deUcate power is intrusted, should always act upon the princii)le3 of forbearance 
and conciliiition ; ever more ready to sacrifice the interests of their immediate consti- 
tuents, rather than violate the rights of the other members of the family. Those 
who pursue a dillercnt course, whose rule is never to stop short of the attuinmcut of 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 79 

aTl which they may consider their due, will often be found to have troppassed upon 
the boundary they had tiiemselves established. The observations with wiiich I shall 
conclude this letter, on the subject of the veto power by tlie president, will apply iu 
this as well as your other questions. 

Fourth : I have before me a newspaper, in which I am designated by its distinguished 
editor, " T/te bank and federal candidate." I think it would puzzle the writer to 
adduce any act of my life which warrants him in identifying nic with the interest of 
the first, or the politics of the latter. Having no means of ascertaining the senti- 
ments of the directors and stockholders of the Bank of the United States, (which is 
the one, I pre.sume, with which it was intended to associate me,) I cannot say what 
their course is Hkely to be in relation to the ensuing election for president. Should 
they, however, give me their support, it will be evidence, at least, that the opposition 
which I gave to their institution in my capacity of representative from Ohio, in congress, 
proceeded, in their opinion, from a sense of duty which I could not disregard. 

The journals of the second session of the thirteenth, and those of the fourteenth 
congress, will show tliat my votes are recorded against them upon every question in 
which their interest was involved. I did, indeed, exert myself in the senate of Ohio, 
to procure a repeal of the law, which had imposed an enormous tax ui>on the 
branches which had been located in its boundaries at the request of the citizens. Tlie 
ground of those exertions was not the interest of the bank; but to save what I con- 
sidered the honor of the state, and to prevent a controversy between the state officers 
and those of the Unitrd States. 

In the spring of 1834, I had also the honor to preside at a meeting of the citizens 
of Hamilton county, called for the purpose of expressing their sentiments in relatioa 
to the removal of the public money from the custody of the bank, by the ;< le 
authority of the executive. As president of the meeting, I explained at some length 
the object for which it was convened, but I advanced no opinion in relation to the 
recharlering of the bank. 

A most respectful memorial to the president in relation to the removal of tl:e 
deposites was adopted, as were also resolutions in favor of rechartering (he bank; but, 
as 1 have already said, this was not the purpose for which the meeting was called, and 
not one upon which, as presiding officer, I was called upon to give an opinion, but in 
the event of an equal division of the votes. 

As a private citizen, no man can be more entirely clear of any motive, either fcr 
the rechartering the old institution, or creating a new one under the authority of the 
United States. I never had a single share in the former, nor, indeed, in any bank, 
with one exception ; and that many years ago failed, with the loss of the entire stock. 
I have no inclination again to venture in that way, even if I should ever possess the 
means. With the exception above mentioned, of stock in a bank, long since broken, 
I never put out a dollar at interest in my life. My interest being entirely identified 
with the cultivation of the soil, I am inunediately and personally connected with 
none other. 

I have made this statement to sliow you that I am not conmiitted to any course in. 
relation to the chartering of a bank of the United States ; and that I might, if so 
disposed, join in the popular cry of denunciation against the old institution, and upon 
its misconduct, predicate an opposition to the chartering of another. 

I shall not, however, take this course, so opposite to that which I hope I have 
followed through life, but will give you my sentiments clearly and fully, not only 
with regard to the future conduct of the government on the subject of a national 
bank, but in relation to the operations of that which is now defunct. 

I was not in congress when the late bank was chartered, but was a member of the 
thirteenth congress, after its first session, when the conduct of the bank, in its 
incipient measures was examined into ; and believing, from the result of tiie iiive.stig.i- 
tion, that the charter had been violated, I voted for the judicial investigation, with a 
view of annulling its charter. The resolution for that purpose, however, failed ; and 
ehortly after, the management of its atfairs was committed to the talents and integrity 
of Mr. Cheves. From that period to its final dissolution, (although I must confess I 
am not a very competent judge of such matters,) I have no idea that an institution 
could have been conducted with more ability, integrity, and public advantage than il 
bas been. 



80 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

Under these impressions, I agree witli general Jackson in the opinion expressed in 
one of his messages to cons^ess, from which I make the following extract: ' That a 
hank of the Unllfd States, competent to all the duties ivhich may be required by the 
govet-nment, ritiu;ht be so organized as not to infringe on intr delegated powers, or 
the reserved rights of the states, I do not entertain a doubt.' But the period for 
rechartering the old institution has passed, as Pennsylvania has wisely taken care to 
appropriate to herself the benefits of its large cajjital. 

The question, then, for me to answer, is whether, under the circumstances you 
state, if elected to the oflice of president, I would sign an act to charter another 
bank. I answer, I would, if it were clearly ascertained that the public interest in 
relation to the collection and disbursement of the revenue would materially sutler 
without one, and there were unequivocal manifestations of public opinion in its 
favor. I think, however, the experiment should be fairly tried, to ascertain whether 
the financial operations of the government cannot be as well carried on without the 
aid of a national bank. If it is not necessary for that purpose, it does not appear to 
me that one can bo constitutionally chartered. There is no construction which I ca.t 
give the constitution which would authorize it, on the ground of affording facilities to 
commerce. The measure, if adopted, must have for its object the carrying into eflect 
(facilitating at least the exercise of) some one of the powers positively granted to the 
general government. If others flow from it, producing equal advantages to the 
nation, so much the better ; but these cannot be made the ground for justifying 
a recourse to it. 

The excitement which has been produced by the bank question, the number and 
respectability of those who deny the right to congress to charter one, strongly recom- 
mc'id the course above suggested. 

Fifth : I distinctly answer to this question, that, in my opinion, neither house of 
congress can constitutionally expunge the record of the proceedings of their prede- 
cessors. 

The power to rescind certainly belongs to them ; and is, for every legitimate pur- 
pose, all that is necessary. The attempt to expunge a part of their 'journal, now 
making in the senate of the United States, I am satisfied could never have been made 
but in a period of the highest party excitement, when the voice of reason and gene- 
rous feeling is stilled by long protracted and bitter controversy. 

In relation to the exercise of the veto power by the president, there is, I think, an 
important difference in opinion between the present chief magistrate and myself. I 
express this opinion with less diffidence, because I believe mine is in strict accord- 
ance with those of all the previous presidents to general Jackson. 

The veto power, or the control of the executive over the enactment of laws by the 
legislative body, was not unknown in the United States previously to the formation 
of the present federal constitution. It does not appear, however, to have been in much 
favor. The principle was to be found in but three of the slate constitutions ; and in 
but one of them (Massachusetts) was the executive power lodged in the hands of a 
single chief magistrate. One other state (South Carolina) had, indeed, not only 
adopted this principle, but had given its single executive magistrate an absolute nega- 
tive upon the acts of the legislature. In all other instances it has beeu a qualified 
negative, like that of the United States. The people of South Carolina seem, how- 
ever, not to have been long pleased with this investment of power in their governor, 
as it lusted but two years; having been adopted in 1776, and repealed in 1778; from 
which time the acts of the legislature of that state have been entirely freed from ex- 
ecutive control. Since the adoption of the constitution of the United States, the 
veto principle has been adopted by several states ; and until very lately, it seemed 
to bo rapidly gnnving into favor. 

Before we can form a correct opinion of the manner in which this power should 
lie exercised, it is proper to understand the reasons which have induced its adoption. 
In its theory, it is manifestly an innovation upon the first principle of republican 
government — that the majority should rule. Why should a single individual control 
the will of that majority. 

It will not be said that there is more probability of finding greater wisdom in the 
executive chair, than in the halls of the legislature. Nor can it possibly bo sup- 
iwsed, that an individual residing in the centre of an extensive country, can be as 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 81 

well acr|uatntr(l with tlio wants and wishes of a nnmerous people, as those who come 
immeJiiitely from amonrrst thtia — the partakers, for a portion of the year, in their 
various labors and employments; and the witnesses of the effects of the laws in tlieir 
more minute as well as general operations. 

As far, then, as it regards a knowledge of the wants and wishes of the people, wis- 
dom to discover remedies for existing evils, and devising schemes for increasing the 
public prosperity, it would seem that the legislative bodies did not require the aid of an 
executive magistrate. But there is a principle, recognised by all the American consti- 
tutions, which was unknown to the ancient republics. They all acknowledge riglits 
in the minority, which cannot rightfully be taken from them. Experience had shown 
that in large assemblies, these rights were not always respected. It would be in vain 
that thev should be enumerated, and resjject for them enjoined in the constitution. 
A popular assembly, under the inlluence of that spirit of party which is always dis- 
coverable in a greater or less degree in all republics, might and would, as it was 
believed, sometimes disregard them. To guard against this danger, and to secure the 
rights of each individual, the expedient of creating a department independent of the 
others, and amenable only to the laws, was adopted. Security was thus given against 
any palpable violation of the constitution, to the injury of individuals, or of a minoiity 
party. But it was still possible for a wilful and excited majority to enact laws of the 
greatest injustice and tyranny, without violating the letter of their charter. 

And this I take to be the origin of the veto power, as well in the state governments, 
as that of the United States. It appears to have been the intention to create an um- 
pire between the contending factions, which had existed, it was believed, and would 
continue to exist. If there was any propriety in adopting this principle in the go- 
vernment of a state, all the reasons in favor of it existed in a tenfold degree for incor- 
porating it in that of the United States. The operations of the latter, extending 
over an immense tract of country, embracing the products of almost every clime, and 
that country divided too into a number of separate governments, in many respects in- 
dependent of each other and of the common federal head, left but little hope that they 
could always be carried on in harmony. It could not be doubted that sectional inte- 
rests would at times predominate in the bosoms of the immediate representatives of the 
people and the states, and combinations formed destructive of the public good, or un- 
just and oppressive to a minority. Where could a power to check these local feelings, 
and to destroy the effects of unjust combinations, be better placed than in the hands 
of that department whose authority, being derived l\om the same common sovereign, is 
co-ordinate with the rest, and which enjoys the great distinction of being at once the 
immediate representative of the whole people, as well as of each particular state 1 

In the former character, the interests of the whole community would be rigidly sup- 
ported, and, in the latter, the rights of each member steadfastly maintained. The re- 
presentation from the state authorities in the electoral colleges, I consider one of the 
most felicitous features in the constitution. It serves as an eternal memento to the 
chief magistrate that it is his duty to guard the interests of the weak against the 
unjust aggressions of the strong and powerful. From these premises, you will con- 
clude that I consider the qualified veto upon the acts of the legislature, conferred by 
the constitution upon the president, as a conservative power, intended only to be used 
to secure the instrument itself from violation, or, in times of high party excitement, 
to protect the rights of the minority, and the interests of the weaker members of the 
Union. Such, indeed, is my opinion, and such we must believe to be the opinion of 
nearly all the distinguished men who have filled the executive chair. If I were 
president of the United States, an act which did not involve either of the pnnoples 
above enumerated, must have been passed under very peculiar crcumstances of pre- 
cipitancy or opposition to the known public will, to induce me to refuse to it my 
sanction. 

If the opinion I have given of the motives of the framers of the constitution, in 
giving the veto power to the president, is correct, it follows, that they never could 
have expected that he who v.'as constituted the umpire between contending parties, 
should ever identifv himself with the interests of one of them, and voluntarily raze 
himself from the proud eminence of leader of a nation to that of chief of a party 
I can easily conceive the existence of a state of things by which the chief magistrate 
oi a state may be forced to act upon party principles ; but such a course is entirely 
11 



82 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

opposed to all the obligations which the constitution imposes on a president of the 
United iStates. Tl.-.' immense influence he possesses will always give to his partv 
the preponderance, and the very circumstance of its being an executive party will 
be the cause of infusing more bitterness and vindictive feeling in these domestic con- 
tests. Under these circumstances, the qualified v-to given by the constitution may, 
if the president should think proper to change its character, become as absolute in 
practice as that possessed by the kings of England and France. From the great 
variety of local interests acting upon the members of the two houses of congress, and 
from tlie dilficulty of keeping all the individuals of a large party under the control 
of party discipline, laws will often be passed by small majorities adverse to the inter- 
ests of the dominant party ; but if the president should think proper to use the veto 
power for the purpose of promoting the interests of his party, it will be in vain to 
expect that a majority so large as two-thirds in both houses would be found in oppo- 
sition to his wishes. In the hands of such a president, the qualified veto of the con- 
stitution would in practice become absolute. 

I have, upon another occasion, expressed my views upon the danger of a dominant 
executive party. It may, perhaps, be said, that the chief magistrate will find it impos- 
sible to avoid the influence of parly spirit. Several of our chief magistrates, how- 
ever, have been able to escape its influence ; or, what is the same thing, to act as if 
they did not feel it. As one mode of avoiding it, it would be my aim to interfere 
with the legislation of congress as little as possible. The clause in the constitution 
which makes it the duty of the president to give congress information of the state of 
the Union, and to recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge 
necessary and expedient, cOuld never be intended to make him the source of legisla- 
tion. Information should always be frankly given, and recommendations upon such 
matters as come more immediately under his cognisance than theirs. But there it 
should end. If he should undertake to prepare the business of legislation for the 
action of congress, or to assume the character of code maker for the nation, the per- 
sonal interest which he will take in the success of his measures will necessarily con- 
vert him into a partisan, and will totally incapacitate him from performing the part of 
that impartial umpire, which is the character that I have supposed the constitution 
intends him to assume, when the acts passed by the legislature are submitted to his 
decision. I do not think it by any means necessary that he should take the lead as a 
reformer, even when reformation is, in his opinion necessary. Reformers will be 
never wanting when it is well understood that the power which wields the whole 
patronage of the nation will not oppose the reformation. 

I have the honor to be, with great consideration and respect, sir, your huinl/le 
servant, 

W. H. Harrison. 

To the honora'jh Sherrod Williams." 

In September, 18.36, the following correspondence took place between general Har- 
rison and John H. Pleasants, esq., relative to the charge (see p. 60) of his enemies, 
that he was in favor of " selling white men." — Niles, vol. li. p. 94. 

"Richmuvd, September \5fli, 1836. 

Dear Sin — Your political opponents in the state of Maryland have, for some 
time, been actively urging against you a new charge, that o{ sellinnr tv.'iite men, which 
probably had no inconsiderable elfect in the recent elections in that state, and which 
is evidently much relied upon to influence the approaching elections throughout the 
United States. I enclose you a paper (the Baltimore Republican) containing the 
charge in full; and I beg of you, as an act of justice to yourself and your fiiei!(ts, to 
enable me to refute a charge against the uniform tenor of your life, which, I :im well 
aware, has been replete with instances of distinguished private liberality and public 
sacrifice. 

With the highest respect, I have the honor to be your fellow-citizen, 

General Wm. H. Harrison. John H. Pleasants. 

Richmond, September 1 5, 1 836. 
Dear Sir — I acknowledge the receipt of your favor of this date. I have In-fore 
ncard the accusation to which it refers. On my way hither, I met yesterday with a 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 83 

voung gentleman of Maryland, who inforinod me that a vote of mine in the senate of 
Ohio had been published, in favor of a law to sell persons imprisoned under a judg- 
ment for debt for a term of years, if unable otherwise to discharge the execution. I 
did not for a moment hesitate to declare that I had never given any such vote, and 
that if a vote of that description had been j)ublished and ascribed to me, it was an 
infamous forgerj'. Such an act would have been repugnant to my feelings, and in 
direct conflict with my opinions, public and private, through the whole course of my 
life. No such proposition was ever submitted to the legislature of Ohio; none such 
would for a moment have been entertained ; nor would any son of hers have dared to 
propose it. 

So far from being willing to sell men for debts which they arc unable to discharge, 
I am, and ever have been opposed to all im[)risonment for debt. Fo;lunately, I have 
it in my power to show that such has been my established opinion, and that, in a 
public capacity, I avowed and acted upon it. Will those who have preferred the 
unfounded and malicious accusation refer to the journals of the senate of the United 
States, second session, nineteenth congress, page 325 — it will there be seen that I 
was one of a committee which reported a bill to abolish imprisonment for debt. When 
the bill was before the senate, I advocated its adoption, and on its passage Voted in its 
liivor. See senate journal, first session, twentieth congress, pages 101 and 102. 

It is not a little remarkable, that, if the effort I am accused of having made to 
subject men to sale for the non-payment of their debts had been successful, I might, 
from the state of my pecuniary circumstances at the time, have been the first victim. I 
repeat, the charge is a vile calumny. At no period of my life would I have consented 
to subject the poor and unfortunate to such a degradation ; nor have omitted to exert 
myself in their behalf, against such an attempt to oppress them. 

It is sought to support the charge by means of garbled extracts from the journals 
of the senate of Ohio. The section of the bill which is employed for that purpose, had 
no manner of reference to the relation of creditor and debtor, and could not by possi- 
bility subject the debtor to the control of his creditor. None know better than the 
authors of the calumny, that the alleged section is utterly at variance with the charge 
which it is attempted to found upon it, and that so far from a proposition to invest a 
creditor with power over the liberty of his debtor, it had respect only to the mode of 
punishing public oflenders, who had been found guilty, by a jury of their fellow-citi- 
zens, of some crime against the laws of their state. That was exclusively the impoi't 
and design of the section of the bill, upon the motion to strike out which, I voted in 
the negative. So you perceive that, in place of voting to enlarge the power of cre- 
ditors, the vote which I gave concerned alone the treatment of malefactors, convicted 
of crimes against the public. 

I would extend this letter to an inconvenient length to go fully into the reasons 
which led me at the time to an opinion in favor of the proposed treatment of that 
class of offenders who would have fallen within its operation, nor is such an expose 
called lor. The measure was by no means a novelty in other parts of the country. 
In the stnte of Delaware there is an act in force, in similar words with the section of 
the bill before the Ohio senate, which has been made of late the pretext of such insi- 
dious invective. Laws, with somewhat similar provisions, may probably be found ia 
many of the states. In practice the measure would have mehorated the condition of 
those who were under condemnation. As the law stood, they were liable under the 
sentence to confinement in the common jail, where offenders of various degrees of 
jjroiiigacy — of different ages, sex, and color — were crowded together. Under such 
circumstances, it is obvious that the bad must become worse, whilst reformation could 
hardl)' be expected in respect to any. The youthful offender, it might be hoped, 
would be reclaimed, under the operation of the proposed system ; but there was great 
reason to fear his still greater corruption amid the contagion of a common receptacle 
of vice. Besides, the proposed amendment of the law presupposed that the delinquent 
was in confinement for the non-payment of a fine and costs of prosecution, the pay- 
ment of Vvrhich was a part of the sentence ; it seemed, therefore, humane, in respect 
to the oiibnder, to relieve him from confinement which deprived him of the means of 
discharging the penalty, and to place him in a situation in which he might work out 
his deliverance, even at the loss, for a time, of his personal liberty. 

But I forbear to go further into the reasons which led me, sixteen years ago, as a 



S4 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

membpr of the Ohio senate, to entertain a favorahlc opinion of an alteration which 
was proposed in the criminal pohce of the state. It is certain, that neither in respect 
10 myself, nor those who concurred with me, was the opinion at the time considered 
as the result of unfriendly bias towards the poor or unfortunate. Nay, the least 
objection which I could have anticipated, even from the eager and reckless desires to 
assail me, was a charge of unfriendliness to the humble and poor of the community. 

I am, my dear sir, with great respect, your humble servant, 

J. H. Fkasants, esq." Wai. H. Harrison. 

The following letter (see Niles, vol. li. p. 150) was addressed by general Harrison 
to a committee of the citizens of York, Pa., in reply to a letter requesting information 
in relation to a charge of his political opponents, that he had " wantonly burned a 
Moravian town in Canada, with all their provisions, and that but for tlie humanity of 
commodore Perry, in furnishing them with flour, they must have perished with 
hunger." 

"York, October 8, 1836. 

Gentlf.mew — In answer to your inquiry in relation to the burning of the town 
occupied by the Moravian Indians, near to the scene of the action of the river Thames, 
in the year 1813, I stale, that it was not burned by my order, but by order of a major- 
general of the Kentucky militia, after I had left the army, on my return to Detroit. 
This gentleman has always been opposed to me in politics ; but, although he was 
blamed by others, I thought he was perfectly justifiable in doing so, because the 
Indians to whom it belonged had fought against us in the action, and if the town had 
been left, it would have afforded a place of rendezvous for the hostile Indians during 
the winter, which would have enabled them gieatly to annoy our outposts and the 
settlements of Detroit. In war, nothing is more common than the destruction of the 
houses, even of our friends, where they can be used to advantage by the enemy. 
Thus general Jackson very properly destroyed all the houses of American citizens in 
front of his lines near New Orleans. No general who docs not do so, where the 
necessity occurs, would deserve to have an army intrusted to him. 

I will add, that there were no provisions or stores of any kind in the town, as they 
had all been consumed by the British troops and Indians, nor was there a barrel of 
flour, belonging to our army, within fifty miles. The story, therefore, of the Mora- 
vians being supplied by commodore Perry, is a wilful fabrication. I am, respectfully, 
&c. Wm. H. Hariuson." 

It is now generally admitted, that the opponents of the administration failed to elect 
general Harrison in November, 183G, in consequence of their distrust of their own 
strength ; for the returns clearly indicate that, with proper exertions, several states, 
and especially Pennsylvania, which cast their votes for Mr. Van Buren, could have 
been secured to him. The result, however, incited the friends of general Harrison to 
renewed etlorts ia his support, and he was again nominated as a candidate by the 
people. 

In 1838, he was nominated by the National Democratic Anti-Masonic Convention, 
which assembled at Ilarrisburg, Pa. ; and in reply to the president, who communicated 
the odl'.'inl proceedings, he stated that the folloTving were " among the principles to bo 
adoj)ted by any executive sincerely desirous to restore the administration to its original 
simplicity and pufity, viz. : 

I. 'J'o confine his service to a single term. 

II. To disclaim all right of control over the public treasure, with the exception of 
puch part of it as may be a;)propriated by law, to carry on the public services, and 
that to lie applied precisely as the law may direct, and drawn from the treasury agree- 
ably to the long established forms of that department. 

III. 'I^hat he should never attetnpt to influence the elections, either by the people 
or the state legislatures, nor suOer the federal olficcrs under his control to take any 
other part in them than by giving their own votes, when they possess the right of 
voting. 

IV. That in the exercise of the veto jjower, he should limit his rejection of bills 
to, first: Such as arc, in his opinion, unconstitutional; second: Such as tend to en- 
Ci'OiU'h on the rights of the states or individuals ; third : Such as involving deep in- 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 85 

tprests, mav, in his opin'on, UMjuire more mature Jolibcration or reference to the will 
of the (>(!')|)lc, to be ascertained at the succeeJinjj elections. 

V. That he should never suffer the influence of his ofHce to be used for purposes 
of a purely party character. 

VI. That in removals from office of those who hold their appointments during the 
pleasure of the executive, the cause of such removal should be staled, if requested, to 
the senate, at the time the nomination of a successor is made. 

And last, but not least in importance, 

VII. That he should not suffer the executive department of the government to be- 
come the source of legislation : but leave the whole business of making laws for the 
Union to the department to which the constitution has exclusively assigned it, until 
they have assumed that {)erfected shape, where and when alone the opinions of tho 
executive may be heard. * * * 

The fjuestion may perhaps be asked of me, what security I have in my power to 
offer, if the majority of the American people should select me fi)r their chief magis- 
t'-ate, that I woiiM adopt the principles which I have herein laid down as those upon 
which my adininistratinn would be conducted; I could only answer, by referring to 
my conduct, and the disposition manifested in the discharge of the duties of several 
important otHces, which have heretofore been conferred upon me. If the power 
placed in my hands has, on even a single occasion, been used for any purpose other 
than that for which it was given, or retained longer than was necessary to accomplish 
the objects designated by those from whom the trusts were received, I will acknow- 
ledge that either will constitute a sullicient reason for discrediting any promise I may 
make, under the circumstances in which I am now placed." 

On the 7th day of December, 1839, GENERAL WM. H. HARRISON, of 
Ohio, was unanimously nominated as the candidate of the opponents of the administra- 
tion, for the office of president, and JOHN TYLER, of Va., their candidate for the 
oHice of vice-president of the United States, by the national convention which assembled 
at Harrisburgh, Pa., comprising delegates from the states of Maine, New Hampshire, 
Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New .Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Alabama, and Michigan. The delegates 
were among the most respectable and intelligent citizens of their respective states, 
and the nominations were made after the most calm and deliberate consideration ; 
every individual being deeply impressed with the necessity of sacrificing mere per- 
sonal preferences, for the purpose of insuring unity of action and success in the con- 
test. The spirit which animated the convention governed the individuals who had 
been placed before it as candidates by the people; and the noble and disinterested 
letter of Mr. Clay, gave that body the strongest assurance that the nominations would 
receive the cordial support of every man desirous " to bring about a salutary change 
in the government." That assurance has been realized ; and never were the friends 
of the honor and happiness of the nation more closely united in the struggle against 
the " spoilsmen." 

WILLIAM HENRY HARPJSON, of Ohio, and JOHN TYLER, of Va., having 
been unanimously nominated, a committee, comjiosed of one member from each of 
the twenty-two states represented in the convention, was appointed to communicate 
the fact to them, to which they returned the following replies : 

" North Bend, ]9fh Dec. 1839. 

Gentle MKX — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter from 
Hanisburg of the 7th instant. 

However objectionable in the opinions of many of our fellow-cilizens, may be the 
mode of selecting a candidate for the two highest offices of the government by a 
general convention, the peculiar circumstances in which the party opposed to ihe 
present administration were placed, seem to have left them no alternative to secure 
that unity of action so necessary to their success. The number of states represented, 
and the exalted characters of the delegates to whom the delicate task of nominating a 
candidate was committed, leaving no room to doubt that their decision was in accord- 
ance with the wishes of the majority of their constituents, I accept vviih gratitude il^ij 

U 



86 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

nomination which, in obedience to a resolution of the convention, you have done me, 
gentlemen, the honor to communicate. 

But however high I maj' value this eviilence of the attachment and confidence of 
so large a portion of my fellow-citizens, I must beg you to believe, gentlemen, that 
no one is more thoroughly convinced than I am, that in selecting a retired and un- 
pretending individual to be their candidate, the convention were influenced by circum- 
stances often occurring in popular governments to set aside the higher claims of other 
citizens, although founded upon the possession of the most distinguished talents, and 
the performance of the most eminent services to their country, united to every other 
«]uality necessary to the discharge of the duties of chief magistrate of this great 
republic. 

It may, perhaps, be expected that I should embrace this occasion to declare the prin- 
ciples upon which the administration will be conducted, if the efforts of my friends to 
jilace me in the presidential chair should prove successful. But having, in a letter to 
the honorable Harmer Denny, and in another to the honorable Sherrod Williams, both 
of which have been made public, given my views at some length of the character and 
extent of the powers vested by the constitution in the president, I consider it unneces- 
sary to repeat them here. 

I deem it, however, gentlemen, proper at this time to renew the assurance here- 
tofore frequently made, that should I be elected to the presidency, I will under no 
circumstances consent to be a candidate for a second term. 

With the highest consideration, gentlemen, for yourselves and those you represent, 
I am, your fellow-citizen, ' W. H. Haiihison. 

To the honorable John Owen, of North Carolina, ^c," 

GOVERNOR TTLEr's reply. 

" Williamsburg, Va. Dec. 16, 1839. 
Gestlemen — The nomination which, as the organs of the late Harrisburg con- 
vention, you have communicated to me, is accepted with a sensibilitv greatly aug- 
mented by the fact, that whilst it is a result in no way contemplated by me, it was 
attended by the unanimous concurrence of that enlightened and patriotic body. To 
have my name associated with that of the eminent patriot who is put in nomination 
for the first office, is of itself regarded by me as no ordinary honor. His long and 
faithful services to the country, at the council board and in the field, have won for 
him a distinguished name in history, and furnish the surest guarantee that should he 
be elevated by the popular voice to the chief executive office, his administration of 
governmental affairs will be just, and prudent, and wise. With the constitution for 
his guide, and the good of his country his only aim, I doubt not but that his exertions 
would be exclusively directed to ujjhold the one, and to advance the other. The 
friend and supporter of .lellerson, of Madison, and Monroe, and the innnediate 
descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, can be none other than 
true to his early republican creed, and the devoted advocate of free principles and of 
popular rights. I have the honor to be, gentlenjen, your obedient servant, 

Joiix Tyleu. 
Tohn Owen, esq. and others of the committee." 

We also append Mr. Clay's letter to governor Thomas Metcalfe, general Leslie 
Combes, and the other delegates from Kentucky to the convention. 

"Ashland, Nov. 20, 1839. 

Gextlemen — The public use which has been made of my name, in connexion 
with the office of president of the United States, furnishes the motive, as I trust it 
will f )nn the apology, for this note. I address it to you, because our common rcsi- 
tJence in the same state appears to me to render you the most appropriate repository 
and organ of what I wish now to say. 

The convention at Harrisburg to designate candidates of the opposition to the pre- 
sent federal administration, for the offices of president and vice-president of the United 
8tates, has been recommended, and the propriety of it has been generally concurred 
in by all who agree as to the necessity of a change in the general administration. It 
appeared to me to be the best, if not the only jtracticable method of reconciling and 
lujiting those who, coinciding in the general principle, entertained different views us 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 87 

to the most suitable caruliilates for those hij;h ofTiccs, antl I have accorJinjjIy frc- 
quenlly expressed, ami now repeat the expression of my conviction of the expeilicncy 
of an entire and cordial aci|uiescence in tlie recommendations of the convention. 

In the mean time, appeals, directly and indirectly, have been made to me by a 
highly respectable convention holden in Pennsylvania, and by private individuals, to 
decline giving my consent to the use of my name, u[)on the ground that a distin- 
guished citizen of the slate of Ohio, is the first choice of the opjjosition in Peim-syl- 
vania, and in the o|iinion of that convention would be more likely to conciliate 
general support than I should. I have been also addressed by various respectable 
and intelligent citizens of New York, directly and indirectly recommending me to 
decline the contest in behalf of another eminent citizen, who has been distinguished 
in both the military and civil service of the United StP.tes. 

Whilst I have been thus urgently but respectfully approached, numerous private 
citizens and public meetings and conventions in various parts of the United States, 
(one of these conventions, indeed, in Pennsylvania itself) have done me the honor to 
express their confidence in me, and to intimate their wishes that I might be the can- 
didate of the opposition for the ottice of chief magistrate. 

It is perfectly manifest that I cannot comply with all these conflicting opinions and 
wishes, nor, I apprehend, with any one of them, without disobliging the others. 

Under these embarrassing circumstances, I have thought it most advisable to leave 
to the convention at Harrisburg the free selection of candidates, as being the assembly 
to which, by common consent, that important duty has been referred. Representing, 
as it probably will, all parts of the United States, bringing together the feelings and 
views of all," and comparing and weighing the local information which it will derive 
from every portion, it will be most competent to make a nomination acceptable to the 
great majority of its constituents. That it will be faithful to the high trust confided 
to its judgment and patriotism, cannot be doubted; and having a full view of the 
whole ground, it will be more likely to make a selection agreeable to the great body 
of the op|)osition than any separate convention could do, however enlightened and 
patriotic it may be. If the Pennsylvania convention, to which I have just alluded, be 
right in supposing that the distinguished citizen whom it prefers would be more likely 
to be successful than any other, he ought to be nominated, and undoubtedly, for tha«; 
reason, will be nominated by the Harrisburg convention, should it entertain the same 
opinion. 

With a just and proper sense of the high honor of being voluntarily called to the 
ofTice of president of the United States by a great, free, and enlightened people, and 
profoundly grateful to those of my fellow-citizens who are desirous to see me placeil 
in that exalted and responsible station, I must, nevertheless, say, in entire truth and 
sincerity, that if the delii)erations of the convention shall lead them to the choice of 
another as the candidate of the opposition, far from feeling any discontent, the nomi- 
nation will have my best wishes and receive my cordial support. 

.\nd, gentlemen, I hope that you, my friends and neighbors, will excuse the liberty 
I take in expressing to you my anxious desire that, discarding all attachment or par- 
tiality to me, and "guided solely by the motive of rescuing our country from the dan- 
gers which now encompass it, you will heartily unite in the selection of that citizen, 
although it should not be me, who may appear to be most likely, by his election, to 
bring about a salutary change in the administration of the general government— a 
change without which we shall be mocked by the forms, and stript of the substantial 
benefits of free institutions. 

From the tenor of this note, I scarcely need observe that you are at perfect liberty 
to make such use of it as in your discretion may seem proper. I am, with high re- 
spect, your friend, Hexuy Clay. 

To governor Thomas Metcalfe, general Leslie Combes, and the other delegates 
from Kentucky to the Harrisburg convention" 



The compiler has now completed the official record of general H.\KRISON'S ser- 
vices, and given the evidences of the impression they made upon the mind of a 
grateful people, at a period when party spirit did not dare to asperse the fame of our 
patriots to eliect its unhallowed purposes. He has, however, •mitted many documents 



SS THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

and facts which more fully illustrate his energy and valor in the field, his wisdom 
and love of country in council, and the generosity and magnanimity which have uni- 
formly marked his conduct when the welfare and happiness of his fellow-citizens were 
involved. Yet he believes the array of testimony presented, is su/ficient to convince 
every honorable opponent of general Harrison's, that the charges of imbecility and 
cowardice are the mere ebulitions of malignant partisans, and that he has rendered 
more important services to the country than any man living, and possesses every 
([ualification to enable him to administer the government upon the true constitutional 
l)rinciples. To his friends it will indeed be gratifying : and the compiler believes it 
vvill stimulate them to persevere in the holy cause in which they are engaged. With 
his earnest prayers that their eflbrts may be successful, he respectfully takes his 
leave. 



APPENDIX. 



The following anecdotes and incidents in the life of general Harrison, have been 
collected from various authentic sources. 



A curious anecdote is on record, illustrative of the cheerful temper and intrepidity 
of general Harrison's father, who was identified with every turn in the fortunes of his 
country; at a period when that country was convulsed by a struggle in which all 
its rights and very existence were involved. Elbridge Gerry, a delegate from Mas- 
sachusetts, as slender and spare as Mr. Harrison was vigorous and portly, stood be- 
side Harrison, whilst signing the Declaration. Harrison turned round to him with a 
smile, as he raised his hand from the paper, and said, " When the hanging scene 
comes to be exhibited, I shall have all the advantage over you. It will be over with 
me in a minute, but you will be kicking in the air half an hour after I am gone." 

The following is a copy of the message of Thomas Jefferson, nominating general 
Harrison sole commissioner to treat with the Indians. 

I nominate William Henry Harrison, of Indiana, to be a Commissioner to enter 
into ANT treaty or treaties which may be necessary, with any Indian tribes, north- 
west of the Ohio, and within the territory of the United States, on the subject of the 
boundary, or lands. 

(Signed) Thomas jEFFEHsn>-. 

The message containing these nominations was transmitted to the Senate of the 
United States, on the 3d day of February, 1803, read on the 4th, and on the 8th 
taken up for consideration, when the nomination of William Henry Harrison, above 
recited, received the unanimous sanction of that honorable body. 

In September, 1 809, governor Harrison held a council at Fort Wayne, and nego- 
tiated a treaty with the Miamies, Delawares, Patawatamies, and Kickapoos, by which 
he succeeded in purchasing from those tribes an extensive tract of country on both 
sides of the Wabash, and extending up that river more than sixty miles above Vin- 
cennes. The tribes who owned these lands were paid for them by certain annuities 
which they considered a satisfactory equivalent. 

Tecumseh was absent when this treaty was made, and the Prophet, not feeling 
himself interested, had not opposed it ; but on the return of Tecumseh, some months 
after, both he and his brother expressed great dissatisfaction, and even threatened to 
put to death all those chiefs who had signed the treaty. Hearing this, and anxious 
too to ascertain their intentions from themselves if possible, governor Harrison de- 
spatched messengers to invite them both to Vincennes, and to assure them that any 
claims they might have to these lands were not aft'ected by the treaty ; but that if they 
would come to Vincennes and exhibit their pretensions, and they should be found to 
be valid, the lands would be given up or an ample compensation made for them. 
Tecumseh came, without his brother — and though the governor, having no confidence 
in his good faith, had requested him not to bring with him more than thirty warriors, 
he came with four hundred, completely armed. The governor held a council on the 
12th of August, 1810, at which Tecumseh and forty of these warriors were present 
The governor was attended by the judges of the supreme court, several officers of the 
army, Winnemack, a friendly chief, and a few unarmed citizens. A sergeant's guard 
of twelve men was likewise placed near him, but as the day was exceedingly sultry, 
and they were exposed to the sun, the governor, with his characteristic humanity, 
directed them to remove to a shaded spot at some distance. 

Tecumseh addressed this council with a speech, in which he openly avowed the 
designs of himself and his brother. He declared it to be their intention to form a 
coalition of all the red men, to prevent the whites from extending their settlements 
12 u 3 89 



90 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 



farther wpsf — and to establish the principle that the Indian lands bolons^od in common 
to all the trihes, and could not be sold without their united consent. He again avow- 
ed their intention to put to death all the chiefs who had si!,'ned the treaty at Fort 
Wayne, yet, with singular inconsistency, he at the same time denied all intention to 
make war, and declared that all those who had given such information to the governor 
were liars, 'i'liis was aimed iiarlicularly at Winnernack, from whom the governor 
had received a timely notice of the designs of Tecuriiseh and his brother. 

Governor Harrison rei)lied to Tccumseh in a mild and conciliatory tone, explaining 
the treaty at Fort Wayne, and clearly proving that all the chiefs whose tribes had any 
claims upon the land ceded at this time to the United States, were present at the 
treaty and hail voluntarily signed it — and that they had sold these lands for an. amuiity 
which they considered a sulHcient com]>ensati()M. The interpreter to the Shawnees 
explained the governor's speech to the warriors of that tribe, but when the interpreter 
to the Patawatamies was about to begin. Tecumseh interrupted him in a rude and 
insulting manner, using the most vehement language and the most violent gesticula- 
tion, and loudly declaring that all the governor had said was false, and that he and 
the United States had cheated and imposed Ufion the Indians. As he uttered this, 
his warriors sprung to their feet, aii.l began to brandish their tomahawks and war- 
clubs, their eyes all fiercely turned upon the governor. H-jrrison rose immedi- 
ately and drew his sword. The friendly chief Winnemnck cocked a pistol with which 
he was armed, and some of the officers in attendance drew their weapons and stood 
on the defensive. During this critical moment not a word was spoken, until the 
guard came running up and were about to fire on the Indians, when ^he governor, 
with singular coolness and presence of mind, restrained them. He then turned to 
Tccumseh, and calmly but authoritatively told him that " he was a bad man — that he 
would hold no further talk with him — and that he must now return to his camp, and 
take his departure from the settlements without delay." The council was immediate- 
ly broken up, and Tecumseh and his warriors, awed by the coolnew and intrepidity 
of the governor, withdrew in silence. 

The next morning Tecumseh, finding that he had to deal with a man of firmness 
and undaunted bravery, whom he could neither intimidate by his audacious violence 
nor disconcert by his cunning manmuvres, solicited another interview with the gover- 
nor, and apologized for the improprieties he had committed at the council the day 
before. 

Still anxious to conciliate this haughty savage, the governor afterwards paid him a 
visit to his own camp, with no other attendant than the interpreter. Tecumseh re- 
ceived him with courtesy and much attention; his uniform kindness and inflexible 
firmness having won the respect of the rude warrior ; but he still persisted in rigidly 
adhering to the policy he had avowed at the council on the preceding day. 

The following is an extract from the official report of Gen. Wayne, of the 27th of 
August, 1794, giving an account of his celebrated battle of Muuniee : 

" The bravery and conduct of every officer belonging to the army, from the gene- 
rals down to the ensigns, merit my highest approbation. There were, however, 
some whose rank and situation placed their conduct in a very conspicuous point of 
view, and which I observed with pleasure and the most lively gratitude : among whom 
I beg leave to mention brigadier-general Wilkinson, and colonel Hamtramack, the 
commandants of the right and left wings of the legion, whose brave example inspired 
tlie troops ; and to these I must add the names of my faithful and gallant aids-de- 
camp, captains De Butts and T. Lewis, and lieutenant Harrison, who, with the ad- 
jutant-general, Major Mills, rendered the most essential service by communicating 
viy orders in every direction, and by their conduct and bravery exciting the troops 
to press for victory" 

The conduct of governor Harrison, in administering the afiliirs of the Indiana ter- 
ritory, was re|]eatedly approved by the legislative council and house of representatives. 
In 180.5, the former, in reply to the message of the governor, say : 

"The confidence which our fellow-citizens have uniformly had in your adminis- 
tration, has been such that they have hitherto had no reason to be jealous of the un- 
limited power which you possess over our legislative proceedings. We, however, 
I annot help regretting that such powers have been lodged in the hands of any one, 



THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 91 

especially when it is recollected to what dangerous lengths the exercise of those 
powers may be extended." 

The house of representatives, in their reply, make the following remarks : 
" Accept, sir, the thanks of the house of representatives for the speech you made 
to both houses of the legislature on the opening of the present session. In it we dis- 
cern the solicitude for the future happiness and prosperity of the territory, which has 
been uniformly evinced by your past administration." 

A gentleman who had the anecdote fron) the lips of the late general Tipton him- 
self, has been so kind as to commit it to writing for our use. — Yevman. 

During the last presidential contest, the military claims of general Harrison were 
freely canvassed, and some of his opponents did not scruple to charge him with a 
want of courage. The late general Tipton, of the [Jtiited States senate, who had 
served as an ensign at the battle of Tippecanoe, was asked by a friend, " what think 
you, general, of Harrison's courage 1" He replied, " I think him as brave a man as 
ever lived — no one could have behaved with more true courage than he did ; while 
the engagement was hottest, and when the bullets flew thickest, he was to be seen 
speaking in his ordinary tone, and giving command with the greatest precision. The 
company to which I belonged," said general Tipton, '• went into action eighty strong, 
and only twenty survived; the firing upon us was most tremendous. After the 
general had made his arrangements for repelling the attack of the Indians at other 
points, he rode up to where I was, and made the following inquiries : ' Where's 
your captain 1' He is dead, sir. ' Where is the first or second-lieutenant"?' They 
are both dead, was the reply. ' Well, where is the ensign V He stands before you. 
' Well, my brave fellow,' said Harrison, ' hold your ground for five minutes longer, 
and all will be safe.' " In fifteen minutes the enemy was repulsed on all sides. Tip- 
ton gallantly led on his few remaining comrades to the charge, and victory perched 
upon the American banner. 

As an evidence of Harrison's coolness in the midst of danger, general Tipton 
stated, that at the moment the conversation ended between himself and general 
Harrison, and as the horse upon which was mounted his aid, the late general Taylor, 
of Indiana, was in the act of turning, a rifle ball pierced him through the body, and 
brought him to the ground, catching his rider's legs under him. It was a favorite 
black horse of the general's, and he exclaimed. " Ah, is my gallant old black gone ! 
Well, rise and mount again, for we have no time to mourn the loss of a horse, when 
60 many brave ones are exposed to a similar fate" — and having re-mounted his aid, 
he dashed into the midst of the danger. In a few minutes the battle was over. 

Ben, a negro who belonged to the camp, deserted and went over to the Indians, 
and entered into a conspiracy to assassinate governor Harrison, at the time the 
savages commenced their attack. Being apprehended whilst lurking about the 
governor's marquee, waiting an opportunity to accomplish his fell purpose, he was 
tried by a court martial, and sentenced to be shot. The execution of this sentence 
was delayed for a short time, in consequence of the troops being engaged in fortifying 
the camp. In the mean tune, the negro was put into Indian stocks, that is, a log 
split open, notches cut in it to fit the culprit's legs, the upper piece then laid on, and 
the whole firmly staked into the ground. The governor interposed, and pardoned 
the culprit. The reason assigned by the governor for his clemency was as follows : 
" The fact was, that I began to pity him, and could not screw myself up to the point 
of giving the fatal order. If he had been out of my sight, he would have been 
executed. The poor wretch lay confined before my fire, his face receiving the rain 
that occasionally fell, and his eyes constantly turned upon me as if imploring mercy. 
I could not withstand the appeal, and I determined to give him another chance for 
his hfe." 

Judge Hall, himself an officer in the late war with Great Britain, in speaking of 
the battle of Tippecanoe, says : " As far as any commander is entitled to credit, inde- 
pendent of his army, he (general Harrison) merits and has received it. He shared 
every danger and fatigue to which his army was exposed. In the battle he was in 
more peril than any other individual; for he was personally known to every Indian, 
and exposed himself fearlessly, on horseback, at all points of the attack, during the 
whole engagement. Every important movement was made by his express order." 



92 THE TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK. 

General John O'Fallon, now residing in St. Louis, a nephew of general George 
Itogers Clark, and a gallant officer of the late war, having distinguished himself at 
the siege of Fort Meigs and the battle of the Thames, in a late speech, at a public 
meeting in that city, in speaking of general Harrison, says : 

"At the age of nineteen, I first became acquainted with the distinguished patriot 
in whose behalf we have assembled, and having been by his side through nearly the 
whole of the late war, I can bear testimony to his cool, undaunted and collected 
courage, as well as to his skill, as an able, efficient, and active officer. After the 
battle of Tippecanoe, which has thrown so much glory over our country's arms, it 
tvas universally admitted that general Harrison was the only officer that could have 
saved the army from defeat and massacre." 

It was general Harrison's constant practice to address his troops, personally, be- 
lieving it to be more effectual than the common mode of general orders. He never 
omitted an opportunity of setting his troops the example of cheerfully submitting to 
those numerous and severe privations, incident to the carrying on of mihtary opera- 
tions, in an almost trackless desert, and in the most inclement seasons. 

During the campaign on the Wabash, the troops were put upon a half a pound of 
bread per day. This quantity only was allowed to the officers of every rank, and 
rigidly conformed to in the general's own family. The allowance for dinner was 
uniformly divided between the company, and not an atom more was permitted. In 
the severe winter campaign of 1812-13, he slept under a thinner tent than any other 
person, whether officer or soldier ; and it was the general observation of the officers, 
that his accommodations might generally be known, by their being the worst in the 
army. Upon the expedition up the Thames all his baggage was contained in a valise, 
while his bedding consisted of a single blanket, fastened over his saddle, and even 
this he gave to colonel Evans, a British officer who was wounded. His subsistence 
was exactly that of a common soldier. 

On the night, after the action upon the Thames, thirty-five British officers supped 
with him upon fresh beef roasted before the fire, without either salt or bread, and 
without ardent spirits of any kind. Whether upon the march or in the camp, the 
whole army was regularly under arms at day break. Upon no occasion did he fail to 
be out himself, however severe the weather, and was generally the first officer on 
horseback of the whole army. Indeed, he made it a point on every occasion, to set 
an example of fortitude and patience to his men, and to share with them every hard- 
ship, difficulty, and danger. 

A few years ago, it was ascertained that a large tract of land near Cincinnati, 
which had been sold some time before for a mere trifle, under an execution against 
the original proprietor, could not be held by the titles derived from the purchasers, 
on account of some irregularity in the proceedings. The legal title was in general 
Harrison and another gentleman, who were the heirs at law. This tract of land was 
exceedingly valuable, and would have constituted a princely estate for both these 
heirs, had they chosen to insist on their legal rights : or they might have made some 
amicable arrangement with the purchasers, to which they would gladly have assented, 
and have retained at least one half of this property, by giving up the remainder. 
But general Harrison had never yet suffered his interest to blind his true sense of 
justice and high-minded honor, nor did he in this instance. On being informed of 
the situation of this property, he obtained the assent of his co-heir, and immediately 
executed deeds in fee simple to the purchasers, without claiming any consideration 
except the trifling difference between the actual value of the land when sold and the 
amount paid at the sheriff's sale. There were in this tract, too, twelve acres of 
general Harrison's private property by donation from his father-in-law, which had 
been improperly included in the sale, and which he might have retained both legally 
and equitably ; but such was his nice sense of honor and scrupulous regard for the 
rights of others, that he suffered even these twelve acres to be included in the deed 
given to the purchasers. This portion of the land thus relinquished by general 
Harrison, ia now worth more tlian one hundred thousand dollars ! 

The following sentiment was offered by general Harrison at a public entertainment, 
" The people will remember, that to preserve their liberties, they must do their own 
voting, and their own fighting." 



INDEX. 



CHAPTER I. 
BiocRAPHicAi, memoir of general Harrison, 3 to 8. 

CHAPTER IT. 

Battle of Tippecanoe, 9 ; refutation of the charge that governor Harrison's army was 
" surprised," 9 ; refutation of the charge that he had encamped on ground selected by 
the Indians, 10; Mr. Madison's letter transmitting governor Harrison's account of 
the battle to both houses of congress, 12; the ofBcial details of the battle, 12 to IS; 
governor Harrison's letter to the territorial legislature of Indiana on assuming his 
civil duties, and announcing the result of the battle of Tippecanoe, 18; complimentary 
response of the legislature, 18 ; governor Harrison's reply thereto, 19 ; resolution of 
the legislature of Kentucky, that, in the battle of Tippecanoe, governor Harrison 
"behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a general," &c., 19. 

CHAPTER III. 
Governor Harrison appointed a brigadier-general in the army of the United States, 19 ; 
declines the appointment, 19 ; resigns his appointment of governor of Indiana, and 
continues the campaign with the Kentucky troops, of which he has been appointed 
major-general, 20, 21 ; " received with shouts of applause by the army,'' 20 ; " at the 
call of the beloved Harrison, great numbers of Kentucky troops march to join him, 
finding their own provisions," 20 ; « the president of the United States, seeing the 
confidence the people of the west reposed in him," appoints him commander-in-chief, 
20; his preparations for the campaign, 21, 22; his prudence and patience compli- 
mented, 21; greeted as « THE WASHINGTON OF THE WEST,"21.24; proclama- 
tion of governor Meigs, complimenting him, 21 : general Harrison's call for volun- 
teers, and the promise that they "shall have an opportunity for distinguishing them- 
selves," 22; letter from a correspondent of the editor of the "Register," expressing 
an opinion that it is highly fortunate that general Harrison, " in whom is united the 
confidence of the people of the west," has been appointed commander-in-chief, 22 ; 
extract from general Harrison's general orders in relation to celonel Campbell's 
heroic expedition against the Massassineway villages, 22. 

CHAPTER IV. 
General Harrison's account of the defeat of general Winchester, 8ec., 23 ; confidence of 
the people " that general Harrison and the brave spirits who accompany him will 
avenge the bloody deed," 23 ; at the Rapids of the Miami, 24 ; expected to " put in 
a good claim to the title the people of the country he is in delight to give him, the 
Washington of the West," 24; his troops, in their ardor to overtake the enemy, 
march sixty miles in twenty-one hours, 24 ; returns to the Rapids and builds Fort 
Meigs, 24 ; captured for the New Hampshire election, 24 ; siege of Fort Meigs, 24 ; 
Mr. Creighton's account of the sortie, 24, 25 ; general Harrison's official accounts of the 
sortie, 25. 28; general Harrison's general orders, returning his thanks to his brave 
comrades, 26 to 28 ; governor Meigs' orders to the volunteers of the state of Ohio, ou 
their march to Fort Meigs, 28 ; complimentary notice of " the gallant exertions of 
the western people and their beloved chieftain, general Harrison," 30. 

93 



94 INDEX. 



CHAPTER V, 



The true version of the vile "petticoat slander," so favorable to general Harrison'* 
humanity, 30 ; noble and modest reply of general Harrison to Proctor's insolent 
demand to surrender Fort Meigs, 31 ; official account of the investment of Lower 
Sandusky, 31 ; major Croghan's letter, vindicating governor Harrison's conduct on that 
occasion, 33 ; certificate of general Cass, and other field and staff officers, also vindi- 
cating general Harrison, 34 ; capture of Maiden ; his letter to the secretary of war, 
announcing'^at event, 36 ; commodore Perry's letter, 36 ; general Harrison in pur- 
suit of Proctor, 36 ; takes possession of Detroit, 36 ; general M'Arthur's letter to the 
secretary of war, informing him that general Harrison had overtaken Proctor, and 
gained a glorious victory at the Thames, 37 j general Harrison's brief despatch to 
the secretary of war, announcing the same result, through " the blessing of Provi- 
dence," 37 ; general Harrison's official account of his victory, 38 to 41 ; illuminations 
and rejoicings throughout the United States, in consequence of the GLORIOUS VIC- 
TORY OF THE THAMES," 41 ; illumination at Philadelphia, 41, 42 j illumination 
at Ne%i) York, 43 ; illumination at Richmond, Va., 43 ; complimentary paragraph from 
the " Democratic Press," 44 ; Mr. Thomas Ritchie, editor of the " Richmond ( Va.) 
Enquirer," 44 ; his humane and honorable general order, on the debarkation of his 
troops into Canada, 44 ; his proclamation, reinstating the civil authorities of Michigan, 
44 ; Perry's letter to him, announcing his victory on Lake Erie, 45 ; proclamation of 
general Harrison and commodore Perry, on taking possession of Upper Canada, 45 ; 

. general Harrison places his army in winter-quarters, and arrives at New York on 
his way to Washington City, 45 ; complimented in New York with a public dinner, 
and his sentiment on the occasion, 45 ; entertained at Philadelphia, 45 ; his compli- 
ment to the militia, 46 ; respect paid to him in Baltimore, 46; Perry's praises of 
general Harrison, 46; Perry's letter, thanking him for " the timely reinforcements," 
" without which his glorious victory on Lake Erie could not have been achieved.''' 
46 ; complimentary notice of Harrison by governor Snyder of Pennsylvania, in his 
message to the legislature of that state, 46 ; of James Madison, president of the United 
States, in his annual message to congress, 47. 

CHAPTER VL 

General Harrison takes command of the eighth military district, 47 ; resigns his com- 
mission in the army, 48, 49 ; governor Shelby's letter to the president of the United 
States on the occasion, 49; retires to his farm at "North Bend," 50; appointed a 
commissioner to treat with the north-western Indians, 50 ; appointed at the head of 
another commission to treat with the Indians, relative to the territory held by them 
previous to the war, 50 ; elected to congress, 60 ; resolutions in favor of officers and 
soldiers in distressed circumstances, &c., 50; refuses to vote in favor of the bill 
increasing the pay of members of congress from " six" to " nine" dollars per day, and 
his remarks thereon, 50, 51 ; resolution and speech in favor of measures to manifest 
respect for the memory of Kosciusko, 51 to 54 ; his attention to his duties as a member 
of congress, 54 ; letter te the speaker of the house of representatives, soliciting an 
inquiry into the expenditure of public money, whilst he was in command of the 
eighth military district, 54 ; proceedings thereon, 56 ; proceedings in the senate in 
relation to the goW medal presented to him, 57 to 59 ; governor Dickerson's speech 
and resolution, 58 ; the resolution, presenting the medal and the thanks of congress, 
passes both houses, 59 ; remarks of governor Shelby, in relation to the vote of the 
■enate, 57. 

CHAPTER VII. 
General Harrison declines a re-election to congress, 59 ; elected to the senate of Ohio, 59 » 
refutation of the slander, that he was in favor of selling white debtors, 60 ; [see also 



INDEX. 95 

page 82;] a brief summary of his political principles, 61 ; elected to the senate of 
the United States, 61 ; resolution giving preference, in the appointment of cadets 
to the military academy at West Point, to the sons of those who had fallen in 
battle, 61; reply to John Randolph, who accused him of having been a black- 
cockade federalist, 61 ; appointed minister to Colombia, 62; notice of the official 
government journal of Colombia, on his arrival at Bogota, 62 ; recalled by general 
Jackson, 62 ; parting address of the government council of Colombia, 62 ; his cele- 
brated letter to Bolivar, 63 to 68; returns to the United States, and takes up his 
residence at his farm at" North Bend," 68; partakes of a public dinner tendered to 
him by the citizens of Cincinnati, 6S ; delivers an address before tiie Hamilton 
Afrricultural Society, 68; compliment paid to him by Richard M, Johnson, vice- 
president of the United States, 69 ; destroys his whisky distillery, 69 ; his senti- 
ments upon abolition, slavery, &c. ; his Cheviot address, 69, 70; his speech at 
Vinceiines iu 1S35, 71 ; remarks of the Charleston {Soutli Carolina) Courier, 73; 
of the New Orleans {Louisiana) Bee, 73; his letter to Thomas Sloo, esq., of New 
Orleans, 73 ; letter of John Macpherson Berrien, of Georgia, 73, 74 ; extracts from 
tiis address at the celebration of the forty-seventh anniversary of the settlement 
of Ohio, 74 ; from one before the Philosophical Historical Society of Ohio, on the 
aborigines of that state, 74. 

CHAPTER Vni. 
Nominated as a candidate for the presidency of the United States, 75 ; letter to the 
officers of the Maryland convention, 76; letter in reply to the queries of the honor- 
able Sherrod Williams, of Kentucky, 77 to 82 ; letter to John H. Pleasants, esq., rela- 
tive to the charge that he was in favor of selling white men, &c., 82, 83 ; [see also 
page 60;] letter in reply to the charge that he had burned a Moravian town in 
Canada, 84 ; nominated as a candidate for the presidency by the National Democratic 
Anti-masonic Convention, 84 ; his views of "the principles to be adopted by any 
executive sincerely desirous to restore the administration to its original simplicity 
and purity," 85; nominated as the candidate of the opponents of the administration, 
by the National Convention which assembled at Harrisburg in December, 1839 85- 
his letter, accepting the nomination, 85 ; letter of Mr. Tyler, 86 ; of Mr. Clay, 86. 

Appendix, 89 to 93. 



Philadelphia : 

Sterpotyped by L. Johnson. 

Printed by T. K. and P. O. Collins. 



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